Betrayed Betrays
by Razial
Summary: Buffy betrays Xander and Willow after shacking up with Spike, In return Xander and Willow give in to their darker impulses and set out to take control of the Hellmouth and destroy their betrayers. Adult story.
1. Chapter 1

Betrayed Betrays

Author: David Mycock

Beta: Hawklan

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any of the characters in the show, except for the ones I have created for this story.

Pairing: Xander/Dawn/Willow/Tara/Faith

This story is rated NC-17 or R as it will have sexual scenes and will be a dark fic.

Set during seasons 6 to 7, except that there is no evil trio to deal with and Faith was brought to Sunnydale to cover whilst Buffy was dead. Dawn is 18 in this story.

Summary: Buffy betrays Xander and Willow after shacking up with Spike by kicking them out of the group no longer caring about them and believing Spike's lies about them being useless in the fight. In return Xander and Willow give in to their darker impulses and set out to take control of the Hellmouth and destroy their betrayers.

(Summer's residence)

Dawn Summers watched in growing fear, as the argument between her sister Buffy and their friends Xander and Willow continued. Ever since she had been brought back from the dead Buffy had been acting more and more strangely as far as Dawn was concerned.

She had been angry and hateful to her friends, who had according to her, pulled her out of heaven. Something Dawn did not believe was possible, as no witch could be powerful enough to take someone from God unless he wanted that person to be back on Earth. She had tried explaining this to her sister, but had been ignored, which was another thing that had happened a hell of a lot lately. Her sister ignored her and barely wasted any time on her or her life.

This angered Dawn beyond all measures, but there was nothing she could do right now. The biggest problem, at least to her mind, was Spike. The blond haired vampire had managed to somehow get close to Buffy most likely by taking advantage of her emotional state, but it was clear Buffy would rather believe Spike's lies than listen to her friends, who had only acted out of love for her. The vampire currently stood behind her sister with a grin on his face, as he watched the argument progress. She wondered if he had planned this in the hope of getting Buffy all to himself.

Once, during the time her sister was dead, she had thought he was someone she could trust not believing the warnings Xander, Tara and Willow had given her about him and basically ignoring Faith and Giles. Faith had been brought to Sunnydale to cover for Buffy, so the Council would not find out she was dead.

This had come about after a deal had been struck between the dark haired slayer, Xander and Giles with a little help from Angel, to smooth things over. She had to admit Faith had changed a lot and seemed to be a lot more in control of herself these days. She also had lost a lot of the cocky personality she'd had the first time she had come to Sunnydale and was surer of who her friends were and who was an enemy. Of course once she had been brought back to life, Buffy exploded in rage once she had learned about this.

Xander coolly told her they did what they had to do to keep the Hellmouth shut and he also told her Faith deserved a second chance. This had not gone down well with Buffy, something Spike had exploited time and again to cause trouble. It was a miracle Faith or Xander had not dusted the bastard yet.

"This is your entire fault," Buffy shouted, breaking Dawn out of her memories and back to the argument at hand. "I was at peace, after everything I had done, but no you just had to bring me back and make me suffer, didn't you?" her sister sneered.

"For the last time Buffy, we did it because we thought you were trapped in a hell dimension," Xander snapped back, something he had never been shy of doing. "Even Giles agreed there was a good possibility of that happening, considering what Glory was trying to do. We did it to save you," he pressed. "And if you weren't too busy listening to the lies of that asshole behind you, as well as feeling sorry for yourself then you would realise that," he continued.

"We couldn't just shrug our shoulders and hope you were in heaven Buffy," Willow cut in. "We had to make sure, we couldn't live with ourselves had you been thrown into a hell dimension," she added, just as angry as her oldest friend at the constant accusations Buffy threw at them.

Dawn had never seen Willow as angry as she had been, since Buffy had begun attacking them verbally for what had transpired. Like Tara, she was usually laid back and easy going, but all that had changed and now she was always closer to anger. Tara had been attacked just as much as the others had, whilst Anya had broken up with Xander and left Sunnydale months before, no longer willing to take the abuse her sister vented at her and the others.

Strangely Xander had not been be as broken up about that, as she thought he might be and just let her go, Willow had seemed happy to be rid of the ex demon, whilst Tara was sad that the relationship had not lasted.

"Will you listen to yourself?" Buffy snapped. "You just wanted to make yourself feel better. Well it didn't work and you made my life a living hell," she added with a glare at the red head. "You've always made my life harder, you get in the way every time and I am sick of it," she pressed on, "Spike was right, I should have kicked you guys to the curb long ago, but I was so blind, well not anymore," she stated with a smirk, which seemed twisted to Dawn.

"Wait just a damn minute, bitch," Xander finally snapped at the blonde's words, making Dawn suddenly aware this argument was not going to end nicely and may result in the end of the Scooby gang and all thanks to Spike's twisted lies. "We've save your life constantly at the risk of our own. We helped you in your calling no matter what and we've always been there for you," he added. "You fucking owe us far more than we owe you," he stated, barely recognising the blond before him.

"Shows what you know," Buffy retorted. "You are a fucking useless waste of space who will never amount to anything and you have never helped me, just tried to get into my pants is more like it," she said with a sneer, before being cut off.

"You are unbelievable Buffy, you know that," Xander spat. "I got over you a long time ago. When you used me to make Angel jealous remember that?" he asked. "I went on to a much better woman in Cordelia and from there Willow and even Anya was better than you," he stated. "I could never again feel anything for you once you bedded a corpse and low and behold you did it not once, but twice as you are now nothing but a common whore for Spike," he pressed. "We've heard what you two get up to on patrol and it makes me sick to think what Joyce would say if she could see you now," he told her with such disgust in his voice that Dawn could tell he was not joking.

Buffy just stared at him for a few minutes before she responded. "Get out of my house, loser and never come back," she ordered, "And take your red headed lesbian freak with you," she added, before she turned and stormed up the stairs.

"You heard her droopy, leave before I make you," Spike finally spoke up with a cocky pleased smile of his face.

"As if you could Spike, you are useless and I will stake you one day soon and nothing Buffy will do will save you from us," Xander shot back with a hateful gaze, before he guided Willow towards the door. She was in shock from what Buffy had called her.

Dawn watched Spike run up the stairs to Buffy, before she moved over to her friends hoping to ensure that they still cared for her no matter what Buffy said or did.

"It's okay Dawn," Xander's voice startled her a little as she had been lost in her fears. "We hold nothing she said or did against you and if you ever need us just call, we'll be there for you," he promised, before they both left the house.

Dawn stared at the door for a few minutes and then went to her room, locked the door before breaking down and crying as everything she had known fell apart, thanks to the actions of her stupid sister and her vampiric boyfriend.

Across the hall in Buffy's room, Buffy lay on her bed in Spike's arms feeling content now she had punished her former friends for their actions which had condemned her to this nightmare. She felt relieved to have finally given vent to her thoughts of feelings and made them aware of just how much they had ruined her life. Xander's mentioned of her mother had just made her all the madder. Now she no longer had to deal with them or the rest of that pathetic group, she had all she needed in Spike, he loved and cared for her and he was always there for her.

"You did good pet," Spike whispered into her ear. "You finally got rid of the dead weight and now we will show the world what Buffy Summers is made off," he added making her smile.

(Magic Box)

Tara looked up as Willow and Xander entered the store and noted how angry they both looked. She sighed as she knew that meant another argument with Buffy. She walked over to the side counter and got the kettle on, because it looked they could do with a drink as they sat at the main table.

"Where are Giles and Faith?" Xander inquired, as he looked around the shop.

"On patrol," Tara answered as she quickly made them all a cup of tea and then handed them out before joining them at the table. "They should be back in an hour," she added. "What happened?" she asked.

"It's over Tara," Willow spat in anger and disbelief. "We are no longer friends with Buffy Summers, she has spat on every sacrifice we and everyone else has made for her and enough is enough," the red head vented. "We did the right thing, I know that in my heart, but she won't see anything but what that damn vampire says. I hate him like nobody else in my life," she told them.

Tara was shocked that the long friendship between the two before her and the slayer was over, which basically meant her friendship with the blond was also over. She was of two minds about this realisation. One was relief that she would no longer have to listen to Buffy's complaints and accusations as well as the fact she would no longer have to deal with Spike. The second was sadness that Buffy had fallen for Spike's lies and fear for what this meant for Dawn.

"What do you think Giles will say?" she finally inquired, after a lengthy silence.

"I don't care anymore Tara," Xander responded. "She has made her choice and as before instead of it being her friends and family it is her vampire fuck toy," he added with a shake of his head, before rubbing his eyes. "We'll have to keep a close eye on Dawn just in case they do something which puts her at risk," he stated to which both she and Willow nodded in agreement.

Silence descended again over the shop and this time it lasted until Faith and Giles returned looking tired but obviously happy with how their latest patrol had gone. As soon as they noted the looks on the others faces they quickly joined them at the table and listened to Xander's retelling of the events.

"I see," Giles sighed before removing his glasses and polishing them. "I guess the Buffy we knew is well and truly dead now, however there is still some small hope she can be reached," he added half heartedly.

"Not for us Giles," Willow spat, feeling so angry she could almost feel it rolling around in her gut. "We're done with her and that bastard vampire she loves so much. We'll look out for Dawn and continue to help Faith, but that is it," she added, before getting up to head home. "I need time alone," she said, before heading to her parent's house.

"Same for me," Xander said after a few seconds. "I know you still have hope Giles, but for me I think Spike has complete control of her now and to be honest he's welcome to her," he added, shocking Faith whilst Giles just sighed. "She spat on everything we've done to help her Giles, she spat on those who died helping her and so I wash my hands of her, but I will still be here for Dawn and to help you and Faith," he stated, before he turned and left for his apartment.

"I almost don't believe it," Faith finally spoke up. "I never thought those three would break their friendship," she continued with a stunned look in her eyes.

"It's been heading that way since just before Buffy died I'm afraid," Giles admitted. "Her actions were cutting and degrading and since her death and resurrection it has become much worse and whilst we all share the brunt of her anger they are the main receivers for it, helped along by Spike," he explained to the two young women. "He is a master manipulator who knows enough about our group to pick it apart at it's strongest points. He's played the long game and won," he added, putting his glasses back on.

"What exactly are we going to do Giles?" Faith asked, not liking this development as to her it meant bad news. "Is she going to become a problem?" she asked again.

"I don't know Faith," Giles sighed a third time. "I really cannot say anymore," he added. "We should all head home and rest and we can pick this up again tomorrow," he suggested.

Faith and Tara exchanged uncertain looks before they got up and headed out to their respective homes. Giles remained for a few minutes wishing with all his being that things were not falling apart and there was nothing he could do about it.

(Rosenberg House)

Willow sat on her bed fuming as Buffy's words continued to run around and around in her head. A growing anger for her former friend was progressing into outright hatred and what she had said about Xander just made it worse.

She closed her eyes and tried to centre herself, but could not. The anger, hate and a thirst for revenge was just too strong. After all the sacrifices, all the times they almost ended up dead protecting Buffy or helping her combat a demon or vampire for her to do this was unforgivable. She wanted revenge, she wanted satisfaction and she would have it. She would make that blond idiot pay for her arrogance and she would get Xander to help her, as she was sure he would be feeling the same as her.

She quickly summoned all of her magic and transported herself to Xander's apartment, catching him pacing up and down the living room. His face showed the same anger and hatred that ran through her and was in him just as deeply. He didn't show any surprise at her appearance.

"Hello Willow," he said darkly. "I take it you would like to discuss something?" he added, his smile, whilst his usual one was somehow more sinister:

"I want her and that vampire to pay for what they have done," Willow spat: "We are the reason she has been so successful as a slayer and she thinks she can just toss us aside, well I don't think so," she continued, her red hair began to turn black in places as her magic warped around her. "Join me Xander and we will make them pay," she requested.

"You're thinking too small Willow," Xander countered. "I want what you want, but believe me we are going to do it in a way that will hurt her so much more than if we just attacked them" he told her.

"How, what are you plans?" Willow inquired intrigued, because she knew Xander could be very insightful as well as deceitful when he wanted to be.

"We are going to take over Sunnydale Willow," Xander explained with a smirk. "We will take control of it all once we gain a few allies. Your magic will be needed to help corrupt Tara and help unleash Ripper from within Giles's mind," he continued. "Once they are with us you and Tara will seduce and bring Faith into our circle, whilst I," here he paused as his smile became sinister again. "I will seduce and corrupt Dawn and make her my queen and from there we will make a few more alliances and take the town and then and only then we will destroy Buffy and Spike," he stated, as he finished explaining his plans.

Willow thought it over before her own smile twisted and nodded her head, she loved it. For too long had they tried to save this shit burg of a town without any real thanks, if they took control of it maybe then they could really do something about the vampires. The demons could be used against them and controlled by magic. Once Buffy saw what they had done her spirit would be broken, especially once she witnessed the transformation of Dawn.

They would have to be careful until they had Tara, Giles and Faith with them and that she thought would be very enjoyable. Seduction and magic would bring Tara into their circle as well as Faith, although reminding Faith what Buffy had done to her would also help. With Giles, magic would have to bring his Ripper personality out into his conscious mind, so he would agree with their new path. That would be a challenge and she would enjoy it.

"Who else do you plan to bring in to help us?" she asked as she sat down, really looking forward to making this plan work.

"Well once Ripper is with us, I thought we might track down his pal Ethan and get him to help us with a little chaos and mayhem to distract Buffy from what we are really doing," Xander told her, as he sat next to her. "If we can transform Amy back into a human she can aid us with her own magic," he continued.

"What if she needs convincing to join us?" Willow asked, with a coy smile as she leaned against Xander.

"Then we will convince her Willow," Xander assured her, putting his hand around her. "We are going to have so much fun Willow, I promise," he stated. "I feel so free now you know," he said after a few minutes of silence.

"Me too, I haven't felt like this since we met Buffy," Willow admitted. "I don't feel the pressure of having to be her friend. I am free of the burden of having to always support her," she told him with a sigh.

"I know what you mean Wills," Xander replied with a nod. "Anyway I think it's time we went to bed. We're tired and we will need our strength for tomorrow," he added, as he got up and then pulled Willow up.

"Oh alright," Willow said as she followed Xander to the spare room before pausing and gaining a wicked smile. "I think we'll spend the night together to celebrate our freedom," she suddenly declared.

Xander stared at her for a few seconds before smirking himself and leading her to his own bedroom. "Thought you were gay Willow?" he questioned with a teasing look, which she returned.

"To be honest, I think I am bi. I was just using the whole lesbian thing to cover my hurt over loosing Oz," Willow answered, after thinking it over for a few minutes. "I love Tara, but I also love you. I've just been hiding that fact a lot better than before," she finally admitted.

"I understand and I feel the same," Xander responded honestly. "We don't have to hide this truth anymore Willow and soon Tara, Dawn and Faith will be with us as well, one big happy family," he added, as they stopped near his bed.

"I can't wait," Willow said, eager to begin a new exciting chapter in her life, but willing to draw it out a little.

She had a crush on Xander for half her life and whilst she had moved on to Oz and then Tara she had not forgotten or really truly given up on him. He was almost another part of her. They knew each other so well that sometimes they didn't even have to talk to have a conversation as a look would do. What she was about to do would be a fulfilment of a fantasy she'd had off and on since she had hit puberty.

She had fooled Buffy and the others into thinking she had stopped liking Xander like that, but in the end she had just hidden the fact, she sometimes had fantasy's involving her, Tara and Xander together, but that would come later, she was sure. She knew Xander had done the same thing, their fluke could have ended very differently, but she supposed it wasn't the right time for them, now though it was time for them to be together.

(Summer's residence)

Dawn lay on her bed and was thinking over what had happened in her life since Buffy had died fighting Glory as well as loosing their mother. Her emotions had gone from one extreme to the other. The one constant she had been able to rely on during that dark time was the combined presence of Xander, Willow and Tara. Giles had returned to England for a small time before coming back and helping get Faith out of prison and to Sunnydale to cover fur Buffy, once Willow had begun making her plans to save Buffy.

Whilst the fact that Buffy had not been in a hell dimension, like they had all feared, their actions had still been pure and more so based on love for her sister. All of that had been lost now, thanks to her sister's anger and Spike's lies. She wondered why her sister was willing to trust a vampire she should have staked years ago over her friends, people who had fought beside her all these years, risking their lives and souls for her. She had to agree with what Xander said to her, that their mother would be disgusted with what her eldest daughter had become, what was it he had said? A common whore and that told her more than she wanted to know about Buffy's relationship with the blond vampire.

She closed her eyes and thought of happier times, knowing that from this point on her life would be much harder, unless she could find a way to get out from under Buffy's control, but how? That was the question that haunted her before she drifted off to sleep.

(Xander's Apartment)

Xander kissed Willow hard as they continued their exploration of each other. They had already shed their clothes and were now lying on his bed. A very small part of him still found it hard to believe they were going to do this, but it was quickly crushed under his feelings for the red head he was holding.

Willow herself just gave herself to the pleasure she was feeling, as well as the frill she felt at finally giving into her long held feelings for the man she had grown up with and claiming him as hers. Granted they would not be a normal couple once their plans came to fruition but the point stood who they belonged too. She quickly reached down and grabbed his manhood and guided it to her entrance before slamming herself down on it and moaning out loud at the sensations she felt.

Xander moaned himself a little surprised at Willow's sudden move, but enjoying it just as much. He reached up and pulled her to him and kissed her deeply before she rose and began to move up and down in sync with his own movements. He shot up and captured one of her nipples in his mouth and began to suck making her moan again before she grabbed his head and held him in place, they continued to rut against each other lost in the presence of each other.

"I have an idea," Willow whispered in his ear with a smile.

"What?" he asked, as she paused her movements making him want to beg her to continue.

"I'm going to project our fun straight into the minds of Faith, Dawn and Tara," Willow responded, as she summoned some of her power.

"You are a bad girl Wills," Xander chuckled impressed, before moaning as the red head began to move again.

Across the town three young women began to dream vividly of the two of them making love, feeling every movement and every sensation, bringing them to the edge of ecstasy before they toned it down and drew it out.

Willow kissed Xander again as they continued, knowing this was been experienced now by Tara, Faith and Dawn. These facts made her even wetter and feel naughtier, for Tara this would be a strange experience, but one she felt would make her lover yearn to sample this kind of sex for herself. As for Faith and Dawn well she guessed for the dark haired slayer it would be a fun experience whilst for Dawn a fantasy she wished would come true. She had talked to Dawn a lot and knew what she secretly desired and that was Xander. She also had caught Dawn out of the corner of her eye watching as she and Tara kissed many times.

She groaned as Xander picked up the pace and rolled her under him, she allowed the move, submitting to him. They kissed again as they moved faster before he bent lower and again began to tease and suck her breasts before they both cried out as they finally came at the same time.

At the same time Faith, Dawn and Tara awoke as they too came from the most intense dream/fantasy they'd ever had. Dawn buried her head into her pillow to stifle her cry of pleasure before taking deep breaths of air as she tried to stem her wildly beating heart. The dream had felt so real she thought with a smile wishing she had actually been in Willow's place.

Faith cried out not caring who heard her before smirking, whilst it was weird to dream of red and boytoy together it was still a wicked good dream. Tara also cried out in her and Willow's dorm, feeling almost more pleasure than she knew how to handle, as she calmed down she wondered what the hell had brought that kind of dream on. She knew she had an orgasm from it and this disturbed her mostly and yet a small part her was intrigued and wanted to taste it for real.

Willow lay against Xander enjoying the feeling of finally making love to Xander, whilst also thinking of how their friends were feeling, after feeling everything she and Xander had felt. She smirked imagining the looks on their faces, especially Tara's.

"Do you think they enjoyed it?" Xander asked from under her.

"Oh I think so," she responded. "I know for a fact Dawn will want the real thing and once you make your move she will fall to you. This will just make her want it more," she told him with a smile. "Faith of course will have just enjoyed the experience and maybe want to join in if we offered, whilst Tara will for now be confused with just a small part of her enjoying it," she continued, using her knowledge of their friends to predict their reactions.

They shared a smile and a chuckle knowing they had just taken the first steps on their new path, opening up the three girls to their love making was just a start. Tomorrow they would begin implementing their plan by first turning Giles back into Ripper and get him to locate Ethan and then they would begin working on Tara and Faith.

Xander had decided to leave Dawn until last, after they had converted Tara and Faith and transformed and gotten Amy on their side as well. Then they would be strong enough to deal with Buffy and Spike who would be distracted by the chaos Ethan and Ripper would unleash. He could just imagine it, for now he pulled Willow closer to him and began to drift off to sleep followed by Willow.

Across town Dawn had quickly gone back to sleep and on her own began to dream of making love not just to Xander but Willow and Tara as well. A fact no one but her, at least to her knowledge, knew was her fascination and longing to experience a lesbian sexual encounter with her two friends.

Faith also quickly got back to sleep with a smirk on her face as her dreams quickly fell into fantasy. Tara however remained awake for some time trying to think of why she would fantasise about Willow making love to Xander.

Something didn't add up and she wondered if someone had used magic to project the dream into her head, but she dismissed the idea as foolish before finally settling into a troubled sleep, as she continued to see the image of Willow and Xander together every now and then.


	2. Chapter 2

Betrayed Betrays Chapter 2

(Xander's Apartment)

Xander woke up moaning, as he felt someone sucking his penis and quickly opened his eyes to find Willow smirking up at him as she did just that. It took him a few seconds to remember just what had transpired the night before and what they had decided to do. He reached down and placed his hand in her hair which he noted was still streaked with black from her magic's reaction to her anger. This effect on her made her look even more stunning in his eyes.

He groaned, before, unable to stop himself, he climaxed and stared as Willow took everything he let out before swallowing it all. She finally let him go and then went to the bathroom, where he could hear he wash her mouth out before she came back and laid next to him.

"Good morning," she purred in his ear. "At least I hope it was good for you?" she added teasingly.

"Oh it was Wills," Xander responded with a smirk. "In fact I can't remember a better wake up to a morning ever," he added, before noting the really amused look in her eyes. "You projected it to them again didn't you?" he inquired.

"Would I do that to our friends Xan?" she shot back coyly, before shrugging. "Okay I did. Dawn would have still been in bed as would Faith and so they had the same wake up as you, which I am sure was fun for them," she explained, before her smile turned very wicked. "Tara would have been up for college and would have had to be very careful as she climaxed in her seat," she added laughing, slightly wondering how her lover had dealt with what had happened to her.

"Oh you really are a bad girl Willow. I should spank you for that, but the idea of Tara climaxing in class is just so hot," Xander chuckled in response. "I can't wait till we start bringing her into our new world," he stated. "But first we have to get Ripper in control of Giles, so we have to get up and get started," he told her, ignoring her fake pout before he led her to the shower.

(Sunnydale University)

Tara trembled in her seat, unable to believe this was happening to her. Last night had been strange enough and now whilst she was awake she was daydreaming of Willow sucking Xander off and feeling every sensation as if she was there. When she climaxed she almost cried out, but just managed to stop herself, she felt her panties soak and she trembled even harder. The pleasure was exciting, she wouldn't deny that and nor would she deny she was intrigued by what she saw, however she did not understand why this was happening, especially now. She tried to focus on what the teacher was saying, as well as ignore the fact that she could feel a droplet of her climax run down her leg.

(Summer's Residence)

Dawn shot up in bed as she cried out a second time from the intense dream, wondering what the hell was causing her to start having such wild enjoyable fantasies. She would admit she'd had fantasies before involving Xander, Willow and Tara, but never had they felt so real or made her climax. She fell back on the bed, taking a minute to centre herself before she got up and went for a shower, still confused as to what exactly was behind this.

She couldn't help but hope there were more dreams, as she loved how she felt during them. After the shower she dressed and headed down for the day, thankful to find both Buffy and Spike were gone. This was not a new thing for her sister these days. She was often gone before she would wake to spend time at Spike's crypt. She shuddered at how easy the blond vampire seemed to control her sister these days. Before she would have resented the fact that her sister was already gone, but now she welcomed the fact, she feared her sister these days.

(Faith's apartment)

Faith showered thinking over the two wild fantasies she'd had the night before and the one that had woken her up this morning. Now whilst she could ignore the first one as just random two was just damn suspicious and considering both fantasies centred on Willow and Xander she began to suspect there was more to this.

She was not stupid, no matter what certain people thought and considering what had been going in Sunnydale since Buffy's death and resurrection she wondered just how far red and boytoy had been pushed by the blond slayer's actions. She knew both of them had a darker side to their nature, hell she had seen both up close and personal, especially Xander's and they both chilled her. If those sides of them came to the forefront, in light of last night what would it mean for the rest of them?

Granted they had said they would continue to help her and Giles patrol and keep the town safe and also keep an eye on Dawn, who she knew they were all wicked protective about, so maybe she was a little off in her fears, but she decided she would talk to them both just in case.

If she turned out to be right she was concerned when she realised she did not know what she would do right away. She had come here to continue her redemption and yet a part of her still felt angry and bitter at what had happened during her first stop in Sunnydale. At the centre of that anger and hate was Buffy Summer's, the blonds biggest strength were of course her friends and now she had foolishly thrown them away, thanks to the lies of a vampire and her own anger. She felt a temptation to try and make stronger friends of the group and really begin to get some revenge on Buffy for stabbing her.

(Giles's apartment)

Giles was tired. He had stayed up late last night, trying unsuccessfully to come up with some way to reach Buffy and remove Spike from her side, but no matter what idea he came up with he failed to see it ending with Buffy coming back to herself and realising what she had done. He was deeply saddened to see the strong friendships between her, Xander and Willow come to an end in this manner.

At the start when Willow and Xander first got involved with Buffy's calling he had not thought they would accomplish much to aid her in her duty. He had been proven wrong many times since then and he had been proud to see how they banded together, to deal with the threats they had faced.

Threats he knew Buffy would have died while fighting on her own, considering she had died twice already the point was proven, having help had made her such a successful slayer no matter what the council thought.

Now however she seemed to have forgotten or she just plane ignored the help and sacrifice so many, especially Willow and Xander, had made for her over the years. This was a betrayal he thought and the fact Buffy was the one doing it was heartbreaking to him. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought Buffy would become this kind of person and he especially had not thought she would become a whore for a vampire like Spike.

When they had learned what the two had got up to on patrol, his first impulse was to capture and torture Spike for hours on end for reducing the girl he had thought of as a daughter to such a thing. The ripperish idea had such appeal, but he had quickly shrugged it off. From there he had tried to get through to Buffy without any success.

'What will it take to wake her up to her folly?' he wondered, as he leaned back in his chair and stared at a picture on his mantle which showed the original Scooby gang standing outside Buffy's house.

He got up and walked over to the picture and looked it over, noting how happy Buffy seemed as she stood with her mother. He also noticed that Xander and Willow both seemed at peace as they stood with their lovers at that time Oz and Cordelia. He missed them both and wondered how they were doing right now, before shaking his head and turning his head to look at Dawn who stood at Xander's side and in front of her mother. She was the one most affected by what had happened and he wished with all his might Joyce was still with them.

'Maybe, just maybe, had she been still alive this could have been avoided,' he thought, closing his eyes and shook his head.

(Rosenberg House)

Willow was just about to start getting her ingredients ready for the spell she had come up with to help her break through Giles's mental barriers and pull Ripper into his conscious mind, when they heard a knock at the door.

They exchanged looks, before Xander headed down to see who was at the door. He was not really surprised to find Faith standing outside.

He noted that she was on guard and slightly weary of him and he began to suspect that projecting their fun into her mind had made her a little suspicious. He let her in and after shutting the door he led her up to Willow's room.

"Hello Faith," Willow said in greeting, noting the look Xander shot her and nodding in understanding. "Is there a problem?" she asked.

"That depends on you and boytoy," Faith replied, deciding to get to the heart of the matter instead of wasting time. "What are you two up too and why was it necessary to send your lovemaking into my head?" she demanded to know. "And don't deny it red. I know what I felt was real and only you could have done it," she added.

"Do you want the truth Faith?" Willow asked, stepping up close to the dark haired slayer who she noted, was dressed in her customary leather pants and a black crop top.

"Yeah Red, I want the truth," Faith shot back, noting Xander had come up right behind her, making it so she was squeezed between the two friends, which was not exactly a bad sensation she thought.

"Revenge is what we are up too Faith," Willow answered, after looking Faith in the eye for a minute and noticing the interested look which appeared for a second in the brunette's brown eyes, before disappearing again. "After all we have done for Buffy. All the sacrifices, all the blood we shed the times we almost died helping her," she spat, "for all that for Buffy to do what she did last night, to say what she did was a betrayal unheard of and we will have our vengeance, Faith. I will not allow her to get away with that," she stated.

"Think Faith," Xander said from behind her. "You know just how badly Buffy can treat people, consider what she did too you, her sister slayer," he reminded her gently. "She wasn't like that with Kendra and yet Kendra would not have died, had Buffy not allowed herself to be duped so easily by Angelus," he informed her. "You were called because of Buffy's mistake, however unlike with Kendra you, like me, had a very bad childhood which only got worse when you lost your first watcher," he added.

"We didn't understand this Faith when we met you," Willow took over, when she noted Faith having difficulties in controlling her emotions at the mention of her first watcher. "And we allowed our friendship to Buffy to blind us to how badly we treated you, by the time Xander did see the problem, it was too late and the damage had been done," she explained. "I allowed my jealously at the fact that you took his virginity make me hate you and refused to consider what had been done to you in the past and for that I am sorry," she admitted.

"Why are you telling me this Red?" Faith asked, trying to stem the storm of emotions this very surreal conversation had caused in her.

"Because I want you to understand Faith, we have not become evil, we did not snap, we are still the same people, but we have new goals and for that we need help," Willow replied honestly. "I have seen the changes in you Faith and I like who you are now. I trust you to not only be there for us, but especially for Dawn," she told the dark haired slayer.

"We're friends now Faith," Xander took up the conversation. "I know you are trying to redeem yourself, but you don't have to stick to Buffy's and Angel's path to do that," he told her, as he slowly pulled her into his body and hugged her.

For a tense minute Faith tried to decide what to do, before giving up and allowing herself to relax in Xander's comforting embrace, so far she had detected no lie from either of them and what they had said so far pleased her, as she knew they meant it. It told her she had finally begun to break away from her past and had indeed made an impact here.

"We have decided on a new path Faith and whilst some would say it is evil, it isn't, because if we succeed we will be able to make a bigger impact on the vampires in this town than ever before," Xander informed her, knowing he had to be honest in everything he said. "We could even wipe them out, to do that though we have to take control of Sunnydale and then using either magic or some other method to use the demons to help us destroy them," he explained.

"You want to use demons to wipe the vamps out?" Faith asked. "Why would they do that?" she added, not understanding their plan.

"Some demons just want to be left alone. In fact most demons are pacifists and will only fight when they are attacked. Only the real dangerous ones need to be killed and like I said, we can use magic to control them to aid us and then you can remove them, once we don't need them anymore," Xander answered. "Buffy's policy of just exterminating every demon she came across has cost us possible allies and contacts. I know for a fact dead boy is friends with a couple of demons in L.A.," he continued.

"Yeah Lorne and a few others, who keep him in the know about potential problems," Faith remembered, as she had long talks with the souled vampire during her stint in prison.

"We could have done the same thing, but she refused to even consider it and yet she will allow an unsouled and dangerous vampires to live," he hissed angrily. "Tell me Faith, how is that right?" he asked her gently, the anger in his voice gone.

"It isn't," Faith admitted. "If I help you, what do you plan to do to Buffy and Spike?" she finally asked, feeling somewhat at peace in Xander's arms.

"Spike is dust one way or the other and as for Buffy we plan to destroy her and if that means we have to kill her," Xander paused, as he tried to decide if they needed to go that far.

It was this pause that convinced Faith that Xander and Willow were still themselves and not twisted like she had become after accidentally killing Finch. The fact that they had to think about what they were going to do with Buffy showed that they still had their morals and conscience.

"I guess we'll have to decide that when the times comes," Willow finally spoke up. "We want her to suffer for what she has done, but killing her? No we're not at that point yet," she added, with a shake of her head.

"I'm in, Red," Faith finally made a choice. "I'm with you both," she added. "Now why was it necessary to send your lovemaking into my head?" she asked feeling lighter than ever before.

"Oh not just yours Faith, Tara and Dawn's too," Willow replied with a smile and a chuckle. "Sit down and we will explain our plans in detail," she said.

Once they were seated they got comfy and Faith listened to what the two were planning, inside she was amazed at what Xander had come up with and oddly their vision appealed to her. If they could indeed wipe out the vamps and the dangerous demons their lives would be so much better than they were and the Hellmouth would be a lot safer.

(Dorm Room)

Tara pealed her wet knickers off, shocked at just how wet they were before going for a shower, as the water ran down her body she began to wonder just what or who was behind this. She had been able to pass off the first fantasy as a one off, but this second one had changed her mind, someone or something was messing with her and she planned to find out who was behind it. She would check in with Giles at the shop and then once Willow and Xander show up she would get their help, as she was sure they would want to find out who was behind this, just as much as her.

(Magic Box)

Giles opened the shop, still feeling down and he hoped the rest of the day would be brighter. He was trying to come up with plans to help Dawn. He agreed with Xander and the others they would have to keep a closer eye on the younger Summers as she might end up in danger due to Buffy's carelessness, which had surfaced since she had returned.

This more than anything, he thought, would have destroyed Joyce if she could see it. He missed the woman dearly as did the others. He suspected even Buffy still missed her, but at the moment consumed as she was by her own anger and hate and twisted by Spike's lies she acted as if she did not even care about this fact.

A half hour later he looked up as Tara walked into the shop, looking slightly worried and he guessed she was still upset over what they had found out last night. He greeted her as she took her position behind the counter. Tara had taken on Anya's role in the shop after the ex demon had broken up with Xander and left Sunnydale. Privately he admitted that he preferred the young witch to the ex demon. Tara had a natural calm to her and was also very helpful, unlike Anya who was loud, obnoxious and frankly irritating. He wondered for a minute what Anya was doing right now, before shaking that thought off and getting ready for the day.

(Rosenberg House)

Faith sat back on the couch, as she continued to think over everything Xander and Willow had told her. Frankly she was amazed at what they had come up with and planned to do. A small part of her was worried at what she had agreed to help do, but she shrugged this off. Xander was right Buffy and Angel's paths were not the only way to fight the darkness.

A smile tugged at her lips as she thought over how Xander explained their new path as a lighter darkness, taking out the true darkness. In point of fact he had told her they were not light or dark, but grey. They were willing to do whatever it took to defend the Hellmouth and their small family. Something she was now included in and that pleased her to no end, as she finally belonged somewhere once more.

The more x rated details of the plan had instantly attracted her, as she played both sides of the field, something they both knew, she had to admit the idea of seducing Tara was quite a turn on, but nowhere near as seducing Dawn. Man she was hot and wanted some action, but they had said that they had to begin their plans now and so she would have to wait until tonight for some fun. Currently she was watching Willow set up her spell for transforming Giles back into Ripper.

She truly couldn't wait to see the change in her former and now current watcher. She had heard all the stories of course, but never has been around when Ripper was loose.

"We're ready," Willow said with a gleam on anticipation in her eyes at the challenge she was about to undertake.

"Just be careful Wills and don't push," Xander advised her. "You'll have to be sneaky to get past Giles's mental barriers, as he will be sensitive to magic directed at him," he reminded her.

"I know," Willow said, knowing Xander was just worried for her.

She quickly kissed him, before taking her place in the pentagram and began her chant as she poured the ingredients of the spell over the picture of Giles.

Xander sat next to Faith and pulled her into a sideways hug, which he was surprised she melted into.

"Do you think it will work Xand?" she asked quietly.

"Oh yeah it will," Xander answered confidently. "Willow is the most powerful witch I know and as long as she is careful she should get past whatever barriers Giles has," he explained. "Plus I think deep inside, Giles wants to be free like he was when he was Ripper," he mused.

"Yeah I bet he does, especially after what's been going on," Faith agreed, imagining the anger Giles held inside for Spike and even for Buffy, considering what she had just done the night before.

They watched as the spell progressed with bright lights flickering in and out around Willow as she continued her chant, which was reaching her apex. She pushed her hands out and the slapped them together and they felt a wave of magic rush out of the room. Willow had time to smile once at them before she fell asleep as she warned them she might, truly drained with what she had just done.

Xander picked her up and took her to her bed and quickly tucked her in, running a finger through her hair and down her face before leaving her to rest and rejoining Faith and they continued to discuss the past and the future, building stronger ties.

(Magic Box)

Giles was in the cellar of the shop when he paused as he felt something trickle at the back of his mind. He wondered what it was before shrugging it off and going back to detailing what they had in stock.

A few minutes later he grunted in pain as he felt a sudden build up of magic around him, which confused him, as he went to go back up the stairs the wave exploded around him and he dropped to the floor unconscious, with blood running down his noise.


	3. Chapter 3

Betrayed Betrays Chapter 3

(Spike's Crypt)

Buffy lay together with Spike on his bed, basking in the feelings he generated within her. It was times like this, that the storm inside her stopped and she was once again at peace. He seemed to have an amazing ability to help her find some semblance of what she had lost or as he had helped her see what was stolen from her by her former friends, by their selfish actions. She cursed them all, even Dawn. Her sister was just as damn guilty as the rest of them, she thought savagely.

Since she had been brought back from heaven Dawn had tried to take up all her time by acting up with such things as stealing or trying to make her feel guilty for not spending time with her. A part of her resented Dawn altogether, as she was not really her sister. Since being back she had thought more and more on the fact that Dawn would not even exist had it not been for the actions of the Monks, who guarded the key. They needed someone to guard it against Glory and of course who did they choose, but her? She frowned, she hated being the Slayer. All it had done was take things from her, her lovers, her mother and her life.

Her mother and her former friends had all accepted Dawn, as if she had always been there, even after learning what she really was they treated her the same as before, but secretly she had resented this fact. She had hidden this from the others and tried to make it seem as if nothing had changed, but knowing she would not have had to share her mothers love with an annoying sister without the monks interference had made her despise Dawn and now there was nothing holding that feeling back. She was free of all the responsibilities the others tried to make her take on. She was free of the hassle of the former friendships, she once thought were so important and she was free from having to look after her supposed sister. Now all that mattered to her was herself and Spike.

Spike watched the emotions which surfaced on the blond's face and smirked, knowing the talk they had the night before had begun to make Buffy turn her anger and hatred onto Dawn as well. She was annoying and a threat to his plan to have Buffy all to himself. He was so close now to make it so that she had no ties to any of her former friends and family at all. His smile widened as he imagined turning her and making her his forever, no matter if she resisted at first. He was sure he could convince her to let him turn her soon, if he promised it would take away all the pain and anger she felt.

Buffy remained unaware of her lover's thoughts and continued to think of the times her former friends and Dawn had hurt her and made her life more difficult, just as Spike had wanted.

(Magic Box)

Giles groaned as he came back from being unconscious. He stood up uncertainly only to fall against a couple of boxes because he was still dizzy and wiped his bloody nose. His mind felt like it was on fire and things seemed to change within him. He paused as he caught his reflection in the mirror and stared in shock at it. He was young again, at least 25 he thought. 'What the hell was going on?' he wondered, before dropping to his knees as a wave of pain exploded inside of him and he fell to the floor again.

This time when he stood up, he was more in control of himself and a smirk graced his features. He felt different. He paused, no not different he felt more like his true self, he felt like Ripper.

He walked closer to the mirror and looked at his changed image again. Someone had done this and if he had to take a guess he would bet all his money on Willow. It seems like she had decided to let him out to play, but the question was why. What was the girl up to? Although he had to admit he was pleased to be free. He had been chained inside for far too long, listening to that whiny brat of a Slayer that his other self seemed to think so highly of and of course her undead lover. Oh he planned to have some revenge on both, for the way they had treated him, but first was a trip to Willow's in order, to get the answers as to what she was playing at.

He turned to leave before he paused and smiled again, the girl was a worthy apprentice for him and now that he was free he would teach her what his other self had been afraid to do. He wouldn't be shocked to find Xander also being at the Rosenberg house. Something told him there was a lot going on that his other self had been to blind to see, because he was too busy allowing Buffy to walk all over him. Well no longer, he thought before heading for the stairs so that he could leave the shop, throwing the glasses he no longer needed at the wall as he passed.

Tara looked up as Giles finally came out of the store room under the floor. She was shocked when she noted that he looked twenty years younger and was not wearing his glasses. Whatever doubts she had that someone was playing with her was now gone, but now it was clear, that it was not just her that was being targeted, it was the whole gang.

"Giles, what happened to you?" she asked, rushing over to him as he headed for the door.

Ripper paused and turned to face the young witch. He reviewed the memories, his other self had of her, before he smiled at her and thought she too could be an apprentice if he could mold her a little.

"Just a spell gone wrong I think," he finally spoke. "And I think I know who is behind it, so I am just going to have a word with them," he added. "If you get bored lock up the shop and take a day off," he finished with a smirk before leaving

Tara was more confused than ever. St first he seemed to be the same person she had known since becoming friends to Willow and the others, but that last bit was not something Giles would have said. No something was very wrong with Giles and she needed to find out what.

(Rosenberg House)

Willow groaned as she came awake and found herself in her bed. She smiled as she realized Xander must have put her here, after she collapsed from working the spell to free Ripper, although without telling him she had done a bit more than that. She had used a powerful spell that would reduce his age to 25. This way he was at his prime and would be an even greater help to them and in a way it was a gift of thanks for all of what Giles had done for them over the years.

She slowly pushed herself into a sitting position and yawned, wincing a little from a headache. She was amused as Xander entered the bedroom with a glass of water and two painkillers.

He gave her a smile as he handed them to her and then watched as she took the painkillers with a large gulp of water. She put the water down on the table near her bed, as Xander sat down on the edge of the bed and trailed a finger down her face, which sent a pleasant tingle up her spine.

"You did far more than, you said you would," he stated, locking their eyes together in an intense gaze. "I could feel it," he added.

"Just a little gift for Giles, a kind of a thank you for always being there for us and it will make him much more helpful," she responded, not surprised Xander had figured it out.

Before Buffy had turned up on the scene they'd had an uncanny ability to know what the other was doing, they finished each other's sentences and had just to look each other in the eyes and they could have a conversation. That ability had faded as she allowed Buffy to force a split between them, foolishly throwing away the one person who had never turned his back on her. It was clear now that the sacrifice had not been worth it and she cursed herself for falling for Buffy's lies. Now though things were as they were meant to be and it seemed that instant connection they once shared was coming back, much stronger than before.

"Just be careful Wills. I don't want to lose you now that we are finally together," he said, leaning over and drawing her into a small, but passionate kiss which she eagerly returned.

"Where's Faith?" she inquired, as they separated, her look turning slightly lustful.

"Gone home for now, to have a rest," Xander answered. "Plus I don't think it would be a good idea to start anything just now," he added, as he looked at his watch.

"Why?" Willow questioned, when they both heard the door below open and someone walk in. By the look in Xander's eyes he was expecting this person.

"We're up here Ripper," he called out. Standing up and heading out of the room, obviously to collect their friend.

Willow stayed where she was and hoped Ripper was in a good mood, even considering her new outlook and her own powers the man Giles had once been scared her and now that he was once again free and able to do whatever the hell he wanted to do, she looked up as Xander walked back in with Ripper behind him.

She noted that her spell had worked perfectly as he did indeed look 25 years old. His hair was dark black and he was no longer wearing his glasses and his eyes seemed far more intense than they had been before.

"What game are you playing Willow?" Ripper's cold voice snapped her back to the present. "Now I don't mind being free again after being locked away in that weaklings mind for so long, but I want to know why?" he demanded.

"You know what has been happening here, you know what happened last night between us and Buffy?" she stated, to which he nodded. "Well we decided to have our revenge and then Xander came up with an even better plan to finally do some good in this town," she explained.

"Meaning what?" Ripper inquired, all for the idea of revenge on the blond slayer and her vampire pet and pleased to see Willow and Xander were on the same page as him, as it meant the red head would indeed work as his apprentice.

"We're going to take over Sunnydale, Ripper. All of it will be under our control," Xander was the one who answered. "First thing though was to get some allies, the first was Faith who has agreed to help us and second was you, but we decided your other self would not agree with our methods and so we freed you," he continued. "We were going to ask you to locate Ethan and have him come and help and to also distract Buffy and Spike until we are ready to deal with them. From there we were going to get to transform Amy back into human form and get her help," he went on, before Willow took over.

"Tara and Dawn would also be brought into our circle and once we were together we would use our combined magic to control the demons to destroy the majority of the vampires in this town. Faith would then kill the dangerous and evil demons, leaving us in control of the demons who like any human just wants to live," she informed him. "Once we have the town and only then would we deal with Buffy and Spike and I promise you, that you will have your time with him," she stated with a smirk.

"I'm impressed," Ripper admitted. "My other self never thought either of you could be so devious or so reckless, but I more than approve of both," he said, as he leaned against the wall. "It's dangerous messing with the magic you will need to control so many demons, but if you are willing I will apprentice you and teach you all I know and I mean all I know," he offered.

Willow instantly nodded her head, knowing Ripper knew a hell of a lot more about magic than she did, even now and considering there was nothing holding him back now, that also meant his knowledge of black magic as well.

"Once you have Tara on our side I will teach her as well, both of you have that inner fire that is needed to truly learn and control the magic Ethan and I can command," Ripper told her. "Now you said you want me to locate Ethan and bring him here to distract Buffy, but distract her in what way?" he asked.

"The one way Ethan is best at, Chaos. We want her up to her eyeballs in chaos," Xander answered. "Anything you can think of that will keep her off balance and away from the rest of us, including Dawn, until it is time to deal with them," he explained with a cold smirk of his own.

Ripper nodded in approval, loving the idea even more. "We can do that and I know a good spell to get Ethan here fast," he said after a minute's thought. "First though, I have some personal business to attend to," he stated becoming serious.

"Such as?" Willow inquired.

"Bringing Jenny back from the dead," Ripper responded. "My other self is far more than an idiot and weakling. He's a coward, he had a spell that could have brought Jenny back since her death, granted only if she wished to come back and only if the Guardians of Heaven will allow it," he explained at their astonished looks. "It is an ancient Egyptian spell and takes a hell of lot of power and control and had he mentioned it too you we could have avoided all of this mess in the first place," he coldly told them and noted the angry look ignite in the red heads eyes.

"I cannot believe Giles did not tell us about this. Had we used that spell then we could have only brought Buffy back if she chose to and only if these guardians you mentioned allowed her to come back," she said in rage. "It would have shot down any problems Buffy had and stopped Spike from taking advantage of her," she continued, as she pushed herself to her feet only to almost fall over, until Xander steadied her. "Why did he hold it back?" she demanded, looking at Ripper who just smiled at her, pleased by the show of strength.

"He has become convinced that you were going to go nuts in time, due to your power. He thought you would go down the same path I did and he felt giving you the spell would only hasten this downfall," Ripper responded honestly. "I cannot believe I turned out to be such a wimp and coward," he spat in distaste.

"Do you think you can actually get Jenny back? It has been a few years since she died," Xander inquired, feeling the loss of the techno pagan even now.

"I think so. If I know Janna as well as I think I do she will want to come back and have the life that was stolen from her by Angelus and in a way Buffy as well, as it was her actions at the mall that led directly to her death," Ripper answered his tone dead. "It all depends on the guardians, if they think Jenny is worthy of returning she will be allowed and if not I will suffer for a day," he admitted. "It's a balance thing," he said, when he noted their worried looks. "The last time this spell was used we failed and we all suffered, but I think this time it will work," he stated with all the belief he could muster.

"What about Joyce, could it bring her back?" Willow inquired, unable to stop herself asking.

"I'm afraid not Willow," Ripper said with a wince. "She was not murdered, her life was lived as it was meant to be lived," he explained. "Her death was natural. This spell can only be used in those cases where someone has their life forcibly taken away, I'm sorry," he said before he turned and left.

(Magic Box)

Tara looked up as the door opened and Dawn entered the shop, looking quite happy which was a surprise as lately she'd had not much to smile about. She watched the younger girl settle in at the table, before going to join her.

"What has made you so happy, Dawn?" she inquired, as she sat down.

"I've been having these great dreams lately and I really enjoy them," Dawn answered, without really thinking about what she was saying.

Tara felt a cold dread suddenly fill her. "What kind of dreams, Dawn?" she inquired seriously, as she began to think her fear the whole group was been attacked was right.

Dawn suddenly looked up and seemed to realize who she was speaking too and blushed a deep red. This more than confirmed what Tara had feared. The fantasies she had been experiencing involving Xander and Willow had also been sent to Dawn, but she paused and considered Dawn's statement that she had enjoyed them and she began to squirm in her seat at where her mind tried to go, were it tried to tell her Dawn was into Willow and Xander.

"Did these dreams involve Xander and Willow?" she asked, deciding to go for broke and get the answers she needed.

Dawn would only nod and her blush was increasing as Tara questioned her. She could not believe she had slipped up and revealed something like this to Tara. The she frowned as she realized Tara seemed to know what the dreams were about and she wondered if the dark blond haired girl had shared those dreams. This thought instantly appealed to her and caused her to wet her panties at the idea.

"I think someone is messing with the group, Dawn. I had the same dreams and just an hour before something happened to Giles," Tara admitted. "He looked 25 again and was acting weird. We better go and see Willow and Xander and check if they are alright," she stated.

"Good idea," Dawn said, however the only thing she wanted to see Xander and Willow about was to convince them to make her dreams a reality with her in the middle of their love making.


	4. Chapter 4

Betrayed Betrays Chapter 04

(Giles Residence)

Ripper smiled in triumph, as he finally located the spell he was after. It was buried in a metal container under a lose flaw board, along with other black or dark magic spells from his past and even some he did not remember. Clearly his other self had been hording whatever stuff he came across and deemed to dangerous for Willow or Tara to use. He shook his head still not understanding how he turned into such a wimp, who was easily bossed around first by the watchers council and then by Buffy Summers. He had reviewed the memories again and again and was disgusted with some of the things he had done in order to help or just keep the blond happy.

He sat down for a few minutes wondering what he would do, once he had recalled Ethan and explained events as they stood. Training Willow and Tara would take time and granted he now had time to spare, thanks to her de-aging spell. Willow was clearly stronger than his other self had believed and had far more control as well. He guessed he would stay in Sunnydale after all, if they were going to take over Sunnydale then maybe he could convince the others to start expanding.

He quickly got up and had a shower before finding some decent clothes, which included his old leather jacket, which was still in good condition. He then left his house with the spells and headed for the Magic Box, so that he could find the supplies he would need. From this point on, he would ensure he was never caged again inside his other self and he would ensure this town became safe.

(Rosenberg House)

Willow was currently eating a meal Xander had cooked, to replace the energy she had lost in her casting. Faith had rejoined them an hour ago, dressed for once in a tight leather skirt and low cut t-shirt. Both she and Xander had trouble keeping their eyes off the dark haired slayer, who just smirked at them in response. A knock at the door caused them all to turn to the front of the house. As the door opened, Tara and Dawn walked in and they noted that whilst Dawn seemed eager to see them, Tara was cautious and unsure. That meant she had begun to suspect something was off.

Tara took in what at first looked like a normal scene of three friends sitting at the kitchen table talking, whilst one ate a meal, but she quickly noted the looks that passed between the three before them and also the way Faith was dressed. She had noted that since the dark haired slayer had been brought back to Sunnydale, she never wore skirts and seemed to hate them. That she now was wearing one, heightening her already suspicious mind.

Dawn on the other hand took one look at Faith and found it hard to look away. Her curious and admittedly lust idled mind wanted to explore all kinds of sex and seeing Faith look so sexy just added to the fire that seemed to be lit within her. She forgot all about the warnings Tara had given her, as everyone looked okay. Seeing Xander and Willow in the flesh brought the dream images back to her and dampened her already wet knickers.

Tara pulled Dawn back, as she noted the younger girl was falling under what ever spell was affecting them, granted she was not immune, as seeing her girlfriend and Xander together brought what she had been seeing in her dreams back to her in mind numbing detail. She shifted uncomfortably at the looks she was getting from them, as again they exchanged glances before Willow finished her meal and got up. She walked towards her, the walk was not Willow's usual one, and it seemed almost predatory, whilst Xander and Faith watched.

She was unable to do anything, as Willow pulled her into a deep passionate kiss. Making her moan, as she quickly submitted and returned the kiss, Dawn watched entranced as the lovers made out in front of her before finally separating.

"Hey baby, I missed you," Willow said in a almost purr, as she trailed a finger down Tara's face, who was flushed and looked slightly glazed. "Is something wrong?" she inquired, knowing the effect she was having on Tara.

Tara just stared at her girlfriend, unable at the moment to reply as the look in the red heads eyes told her exactly what she wanted to do to her. She shivered in anticipation, before she shook her head and tried to rally herself and backed away slightly.

"I think someone is messing with us as a group," Tara stated. "I think they are sending us dreams and casting spells on us," she added. "Dawn and I were both hit and Giles had a spell cast on him," she explained.

Xander chuckled, impressed with Tara's restraint in the face of such a blatant come on by Willow, as he knew, had she done it to him he would have caved. He stood and made his way over to them, noting the lust filled face of Dawn, as he stopped at Willow's side and gave her a smile which was quickly returned.

"What kind of dreams Tara?" he questioned, trying to sound worried. "We've been fine," he added.

"They were sex dreams, involving you and Willow," Dawn blurted out, wanting to do nothing more than jump them both, but was holding herself back somehow.

Willow and Xander could not hold back and they quickly laughed, ignoring the sudden look of comprehension which appeared on Tara's face. Xander quickly stopped and moved over to the door and locked it, before turning back to Tara, who was watching him.

"Yes Tara, it was us or at least Willow, who sent the dreams to you, Dawn and Faith," Xander explained as she went to question him. "Yes they were real and no she did not cheat on you, as you see you are very much apart of our family and we love you very much," he continued, as Willow wrapped Tara into a hug, as Faith stood and moved over to the side of Dawn.

"What is going on?" Dawn asked, finally breaking free of her lust filled thoughts at Xander's explanation. "Why would you do that?" she added.

"Sit and we will explain," Willow said, as she guided Tara to the table, followed by the others before she started the tale.

(Magic Box)

Ripper took a deep breath, knowing he was taking a huge risk in what he was about to do, but he felt he owed it to Janna to give her the chance at the life that was stolen from her, as long as the guardians agreed. If he could, he would knock some sense into his other self for not doing this after Angelus killed Janna.

Finally he was prepared and he began the ritual, hoping he was not making a big mistake, he poured the ingredients into the bowl, at the right time he picked up the chant as the wind began to buffer him, even though he was inside.

Lighting arched around him, bringing back memories of the last time he and his gang had tried this to undo the deaths Eyghon had caused before they had banished it the first time, wasted lives he thought as he pressed on raising the bowl with the combined ingredients, allowing the lightening to hit it, causing a huge explosion which did not harm him.

This relieved him as the last time the bowl had shattered and he and the others had been thrown across the room and had been unable to move for a full day which they spent in agony. The smoke from the explosion turned first purple, then black and finally white, which grew in intensity.

He closed his eyes as he finally finished his chant and then, as the spell instructed, he let go of the bowl. Instead of falling to the ground it hovered in the air, magic tendrils flickering around it before it vanished as the white light engulfed the whole room, before fading out again, allowing Ripper to open his eyes and find Janna standing before him, looking somewhat surprised and uncertain.

"Janna," he said in joy and was about to stand up, just before a voice caused him to freeze in place.

"We have returned her, as she is needed to retain the balance, but something or someone must be sacrificed in return," the voice stated, sending an icy chill down even Ripper's spine.

"What or who do you request?" he asked the guardian, wondering what it had in mind.

"The vampire Spike will do," the voice replied: "The dead slayer must also be finally sent to us, as she was indeed in a different dimension, which she just assumed was heaven," the voice added in distain: "if you wish to avoid the destruction, the First Evil will bring, you must do this," it continued.

"How do we return Buffy to you?" Ripper inquired, not liking the idea of the First Evil being back.

A flash of light appeared near him, causing him to look down where he noted that a new spell was lying before him. He picked it up and looked it over. He noted there were two spells. One on how to sacrifice Spike properly and the other on was for how to return Buffy back to where ever she is meant to be.

"When the witch brought the dead slayer back, she breeched the wards keeping the First Evil in its prison. It plans to wipe out the Slayer line, which will leave the world without its most useful protectors and this is not something we can allow," the guardian informed him. "You must send her back and soon, if the death and extinction of the Slayer line is to be avoided," he went on. "Make sure that the Witch learns how to properly use and control magic, as the next time she does something like this, she will be removed," the guardian warned, before there was another flash of light and the guardian's presence faded.

Janna, who had been listening to everything that was has been said, shivered and was wondering what exactly the guardian had meant, when it had said she was needed to retain the balance? She remembered that she had been killed. The sharp pain as her neck was snapped was hard to forget.

Then she remembered a light all around her and then to be greeted by her dead family and friends and even ancestors. Now she was back on Earth and alive once more. She looked at Ripper, as she had been watching what had been going on in Sunnydale since her death, so she knew he was not the Giles she had known before, but he had been right, she wanted to have the life that was taken from her, which is why she had agreed to be brought back. Still that did not help her understand exactly what the guardian had meant, when it said she could retain the balance.

"Janna, are you okay?" Ripper inquired, as he finally stood up and took in Janna's appearance, noting she was dressed in a long white dress and her hair was a little longer than he remembered.

Ripper's voice brought Janna out of her confused thoughts and she again focused on him. "I'm okay Ripper and thank you for this," she responded with a small smile.

"You were aware of what was going on then?" Ripper inquired, somewhat surprised she knew he was not exactly the Giles of old.

"Of course I was, what do you think the dead do most of the time?" Janna shot back in amusement. "We watch the living," she added, as she watched Ripper begin to prepare a new spell, clearly to summon his old friend Ethan to Sunnydale. "You realize with what the guardian told you, that the plan you and the others have made will need modifying?" she inquired.

Ripper paused in his movements, as her words filtered through his mind and realized she was right. If the First Evil was planning to assault the Slayer line, they had to move faster than planned before and so he quickly picked up his speed in preparing to summon Ethan, whilst Janna sat at the counter, content to watch and still getting used to be alive again.

(Summer's Residence)

Buffy walked into the house and quickly noted that it was empty. At first she was annoyed that Dawn was clearly hanging with Xander and the others against her wishes, but after thinking it over she quickly got over it as she realized she did not want to deal with Dawn at all.

She wanted things to as they were before, with just her and Mom and Spike. In her mind now Spike had always been with her. She refused to remember it any other way, refused to even consider his true past.

She quickly showered and dropped down onto her bed, wanting to believe her life would get better, that now that she had thrown her friendships out of the window, she could recover some of what she had lost without them stealing it from her, like they had when they pulled her from heaven.

(Spike's Crypt)

Spike sat on his bed smoking, as he tried to map out the later stages of his plan to rule Sunnydale. He would have to get rid of the Scooby Gang, every last one of them. Then once he had assumed control he might take a large group to L.A. and pay his respects to Angel and remove him and his team as well. This would leave him in complete control and no one would be able to stop him, before he had consolidated his rule.

He smirked as he threw his smoke to the ground and looked around, wondering when he should turn Buffy. Maybe he should wait until after he had killed the group, as that way there would be no one to aid her, should she somehow refuse him and escape his grasp.

(Rosenberg House)

Dawn sat completely stunned after the explanations had been given. All thoughts of sex and lust had been driven from her mind. She found what Willow and Xander had come up with a strange concept to wrap her mind around, the fact that they had turned Giles back into Ripper and regressed his age to 25 was staggering. The knowledge that Faith had been convinced to join them as well shocked her. She didn't know what to do.

Did she run and find her sister and let her deal with them? No she shook her head. That was a bad idea. She had to remember that Xander and Willow were not evil or insane they just had a new insight after that last argument with Buffy. They were grey they had said. They wanted to protect their family, which were Tara, Faith, Giles and her from everything that threatened them and now they were prepared to do whatever it took to do, just that.

Then another fact came back to her. Ripper was planning to bring back Janna Kalderash with a spell he'd had, that could have prevented what went down with Buffy completely.

She found herself angered at Giles for not telling them about this, when Buffy had died. The whole mess could have been avoided and her sister would not now be the plaything of Spike. She leaned back in her chair and stared at Willow and Xander who waited quietly for them to work through everything they just had been told.

Tara was just as shocked as Dawn was and far more afraid of where this new path could take her friends, however a small part of her argued that maybe it was not the wrong path to take. If they could make Xander's plan work, then Sunnydale would no longer be at the mercy of the vampires and dangerous demons that infested it. Their lives could be so much better, if they got rid of them and ensured they stayed gone.

Was it right to distrust them straight of when the only thing they had done was project their love making into their minds, to entice them into joining them? She had to admit part of her wanted to embrace Dawn, Faith and even Xander as lovers, as well as Willow. The idea of her first time with a man just would not leave her alone now, thanks to what Willow had projected into her head. She knew Xander would be gentle with her and he would make it special, but she resisted this part, as right now she needed a clear head. She had to think hard about what was the right thing to do and what path would lead to them staying alive the longest.

(Magic Box)

Ethan Rayne was surprised, when he found himself not in his house reading the Return of the King for the third time, but in what looked like a magic shop. He frowned as he wondered how in the hell had he managed to end up here. The last thing he remembered, he was in his cell reading his book, which he was only allowed to do when he was good.

"Hello Ethan, long time no see," a voice he recognized very well said from behind him and he quickly turned to see Ripper standing there with a nasty grin.

The first thing he noted was the clothes he was wearing and then the fact he looked 25 again. This was very intriguing, as he now knew how he had gotten here. The spell was well known to their gang and it was clear Ripper had kept it, even after the break up.

"Hello Ripper, I must say you are looking well," he responded finally. "May I inquire why you pulled me from the prison you condemned me too?" he asked.

"I didn't send you there you idiot. That was my weak pathetic side," Ripper all but snarled. "Granted I think, for turning me into a Fyarl demon, you deserved a bit of punishment, but now I have a proposition for you," he explained.

Ethan was even more intrigued by what Ripper had said. It would seem his old friend was finally in his right mind again. He smiled as this could get real fun this way. "Do tell?" he stated, as he sat down and listened as Ripper explained the plan.

Janna watched from off the side, not exactly sure what to make of Ripper. He was a lot different from his older self. In fact he was more like her, a wild spirit. She smiled at this knowing she would be able to get to know him better, as she had a life again now. She wondered what would happen, when she met Xander and Willow again. She had missed them both and it was hard watching them struggle against the constant dangers and not being able to help.

She had watched the growing arguments with Buffy since she was rescued from the alternate dimension she was trapped in. The blond haired slayer, as usual, had been stupid in believing she had been in heaven, even knowing that she was dealing with a portal to other dimensions.

To believe anyone could pull someone from heaven so easily, was just even more proof of the blond's insanity. She herself, was only able to return thanks to the guardians.

(Rosenberg Residence)

The silence continued as Xander made everyone some drinks. Half an hour had passed and not one word had been spoken and it was beginning to wear on them.

"Would one of you two say something?" Faith asked, having gotten somewhat nervous at their continued silence.

"I'm not too sure what to say Faith," Tara responded. "I'm confused and unsure that your plans are the right path," she explained, as Xander sat the cups down. "You risk losing yourself to the lure of power," she warned.

"We don't want power Tara," Xander replied intently. "We want this town secure and we want our family and Janna also if Ripper managed to get her back," he continued. "Is that so wrong?" he asked.

"No it isn't," Dawn spoke up. "It's what we've been doing just taken to a new level isn't it?" she inquired, to which Xander nodded and smiled, pleased she had picked up on it.

"I need time to think about this. I promise I will not say anything to Buffy and Spike," Tara stated, before getting up preparing to leave. "We both need time. I will take Dawn to my dorm, as it will be safer for her there, than with Buffy," she added, making Dawn stand up before they both turned and left, but not before Dawn darted back and kissed all three of the lips.

Once Dawn and Tara had left, Willow turned to Xander and Faith and gave them a wicked smirk. "Dawn is almost ours," she stated. "Just a few more pushes and they both will be with us," she added, as she headed for the bed room, with Faith and Xander following.


	5. Chapter 5

Betrayed Betrays Chapter 5

(Tara's Dorm)

Tara lay on her bed, trying to think about what was the right thing to do, but she had trouble keeping her mind on the facts Willow and Xander had presented to her and Dawn. Dawn had come back and quickly stripped and headed for the shower, ignoring any modesty at all, she could stare at Dawn's naked back and ass in shock and lust.

She had shaken herself out of her stupor some minutes later only to catch Dawn's smirk as she finally entered the bathroom, whatever Willow and Xander had begun it had quickly worked itself into Dawn she concluded and the younger Summers girl seemed intent on being free.

She had found Dawn a long t-shirt to wear for bed and tried to look away as Dawn removed her towel to put it on, but she had caught a brief glimpse of the girl's breasts and had to stifle a whimper of want and need.

She tried to shake the image from her head, but it remained there at the forefront of her head. She sighed and tried to focus, but just then her mind phased out, as she felt Willow's magic touch her and she whimpered again as she realized what was about to happen. She heard Dawn moan, letting her know she too had been hit. She closed her eyes and finally gave in to what Willow wanted her to see and feel.

(Rosenberg House)

Willow moaned as Faith worked her breasts with skill, as Xander leaned back and watched with a smile on his face. Casting the spell to project their love making to Dawn and Tara had been hard, as Xander and Faith had been teasing her something rotten. She closed her eyes as Faith pushed her hand down her skirt and straight into her vagina, making her cry out and push her head down into Faith's shoulder. She moaned again, as Faith worked her hard whilst Xander finally came towards them and pulled her head up and kissed her hard.

When they broke apart, she caught the smirk in Xander's eyes and she knew what he was thinking, how hot and bothered this was going to make Dawn and Tara. That sent a jolt of pleasure right through her and she began to shake, as Faith increased the pressure. She was going to cum soon, she was sure. The climax when it came rocked her to her core and made her almost lose her footing, but Xander kept her upright. She stared at Faith who smirked at her, before she kissed her hard and then pulled away to pull her t-shit clean off, revealing her wonderful breasts wrapped in a black bra that made her mouth water.

Xander quickly divested himself of his own clothes, as well as he removed Willow's skirt, as she feasted on Faith's breasts, which were now free. He lined himself up behind his red headed lover and quickly entered her already wet cunt.

Hearing her moan only spurred him on and he quickly picked up the pace and Faith removed her jeans revealing she was naked underneath and moving upwards to allow Willow access to her completely. Willow did not hesitate for a second and dived right into it, making Faith moan in pleasure and happiness.

They continued like this for the next half hour, until they all had climaxed. Willow screamed hers out, whilst Faith bit her lip to make sure she didn't. Xander soon followed and emptied himself into Willow, as she finally collapsed onto Faith who began to run her hand through her red hair with a smile on her face.

"I bet they enjoyed that, just as much as we did," Faith almost purred in contentment feeling, joined to Willow and Xander in a way she had never felt before.

"We are no way near finished yet, Faith," Xander replied, as he rolled Willow away and quickly pushed himself into Faith making her moan.

Faith quickly wrapped her legs around Xander and began to push herself to meet Xander's thrusts, loving the feel of making love which she knew this was, instead of just sex. She was more than just a body here. She gasped, as Willow suddenly reappeared and latched onto her right breast and nipple and began to suck it hard, the sensations were wild and making her drift away from herself.

Xander increased the pace wanting to send Faith over the edge, as he knew it would also send Tara and Dawn over the edge as well. That thought made him smile, as he bent down and took Faith's other breast into his mouth and sucked it. Faith's eyes which had been closed snapped open in pleasure and she quickly tumbled into a climax, joined a second later by Xander, who let go of her breast and moaned her name. Willow also let go and watched her two lovers climax and intensified the spell so Dawn and Tara would feel it that much more.

(Tara's Dorm)

Tara screamed, as she climaxed and quickly heard Dawn follow. It seemed Willow and the others were upping the sensations and pleasure they were feeling. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the feel of her climax running down her legs, opening her eyes she looked across the room to where Dawn was and noticed movement and quickly realized what her friend was doing, she moaned knowing she was not likely to get any sleep tonight.

(Magic Box)

Ethan leaned back in his chair, as he digested everything Ripper had told him, truly amazed at some of what had been said. The fact most of it had been put together by two of Ripper's young friends was impressive. Clearly he had underestimated what the young group of people, Ripper had gathered around himself, were capable off. He was also interested in the spell the witch had used to make Ripper young again.

If he was going to help Ripper and his friends, even at the risk on his own life, it was important that he got something out of it. Being 25 again was something he would be willing to risk his life for, he looked over to where Ripper and his girl were talking and remembered what else Ripper had said.

He also remembered how badly they had fared in failing to cast the spell of life correctly. Somehow Ripper had managed to pull it off and bring his girl back. A price was needed of course and he could understand needing to balance things out. Still sacrificing William the Bloody was not exactly going to be easy, as he was a sneaky vampire. What bothered him was trying to send the blond headed slayer to the guardians.

What Ripper had told him about the guardians request made him tremble a little, as the power they must hold actually frightened him, they must not fail in their plans he thought.

"You okay, Ethan?" Ripper's voice broke through his thoughts and he turned to his old friend.

"Yes, just thinking over things and how to achieve the aims the guardians had given us," Ethan responded, leaning back in his chair a little more. "Tell me Ripper, do you think your blond Slayer will go quietly?" he inquired.

"She isn't my Slayer, Ethan," Ripper shot back, knowing Ethan was trying to wind him up. "My weaker side may have indulged her and ignored her short comings, but I don't. She is a waste of space, which clearly does not belong here anymore, if the guardians' statement meant anything," he continued.

"She's been corrupted, Ripper," Janna interrupted. "Spike has corrupted her into something that is very opposite of what she was meant to be," she added. "She allowed it to happen, so she is at fault, but had she listened to her friends more she may never have died facing Glory, making all of this pointless," she said in disgust and anger. "I just do not understand how she could fall so easily for Spike's lies," she wondered aloud.

"She has always allowed herself to be mislead," Ripper responded, seeing no fault in Janna's arguments. "Just look at how Angelus played her, once he was loose again," he added, not missing the look of anger that flashed in Janna's eyes at the mention of the vampire who killed her. "How my weakling side allowed her to constantly foul up, is beyond me," he said with a shake of his head.

Ethan listened to the conversation, taking in the points each of his companions made. It gave him quite a bit of insight into the girl who had constantly ruined his plans in the past. It made him realize that the reason she had been as successful as a Slayer, was her friends and allies, luck also seemed to play a hand in it as well.

Maybe she could be forced to see this, before she was sent to the guardians, as he was sure that would break her a little and make up for the time he had spent in prison. A small smirk graced his features at the thought, before he began to yawn.

"No offense mate, but I could do with a nice bed," he stated, rubbing his eyes.

"Yes I think we all could do with some sleep, as tomorrow will be a long day, I think," Ripper agreed. "I'll get my keys and lock up and then I'll drive us back to my place. I've got a spare bunk you can use Ethan," he added. "Janna you can have my bed and I'll sleep on the couch for now," he said, as he stood and headed for the counter and his keys.

Janna was thankful he had suggested that, as she was not ready to jump right into a relationship with him. She needed to get to know this Ripper Giles, before anything like that happened. She had time now to do that and she did not intend to waste it, but there was no rush. She followed the two men out and quickly got into Ripper's car, yawning herself.

The trip back went by quickly and by the time she entered Ripper's house, she could barely keep her eyes open. She followed Ripper to his room and after thanking him for the bed she headed for the next door bathroom and after refreshing herself dropped into bed and was quickly out like a light.

Ethan and Ripper shared a glass of whiskey to celebrate their renewed partnership, before also going to sleep, both quickly dropped off and fell into a deep sleep.

(Summer's Residence)

Buffy stared at the ceiling, missing the comforting presence of Spike who had told her he had things to do tonight. That annoyed her, but there was nothing she could do at the moment. She was aware of the fact that Dawn had not come home and she guessed that she was either staying the night at Willow's, Xander's or Tara's place. The only thing that annoyed her about this realization was the fact, that Dawn was again disobeying her order to stay away from her former friends.

She wondered if she should discipline her sister and tried to force her to obey her, but she doubted that would go down well. She might be finally admitting her resentment of Dawn, but she was not willing to have her taken from her. No matter how she felt, her mother would never approve of her abandoning her sister, real or not, and so she dismissed that idea. She sighed before trying to get to sleep.

(Sunnydale)

Spike grinned as the man dropped dead, thanks to his accomplice breaking his neck. Supporting his plans was not easy and he had to ensure he had plenty of money to not only pay for his plans, but also help keep Buffy content until he was ready to turn her.

"Well done Drags," Spike said, as he pulled the money from the man's wallet, as well as his credit cards. He handed half the money to his friend, before pocketing the rest.

Drags was a special kind of help, as he was part demon part human, however his demon half only came out at night so he could be useful in the day time too. They had gotten the man's pin number so tomorrow Drags would go to the bank and withdrew as much as he could from the cash machine. They split their profit half and half. He gave one last nod to Drags before he turned and left, intending to get a few drinks at Willy's.

(Tara's Dorm)

Tara tried to ignore the hot water, as she showered, hoping it would calm her down. Willow's spell had lasted another hour and she felt exhausted. She had watched, as Dawn had all but run to the shower and drenched herself. She had waited until Dawn was back on her bed before going herself. She closed her eyes and hoped Willow would not do that again for the rest of the night. She needed sleep and so did Dawn, finally finishing off her shower she dried herself before putting on clean underwear and a loose t-shirt and then went back to her bed.

"I enjoyed that," Dawn's voice quickly made her look across to the other bed. "It was so intense," she added, her voice slightly husky showing she was still recovering from the powerful feelings and emotions Willow's projected love making had stirred in her.

"I know Dawn, I did too," Tara admitted with a sigh. "But do not allow yourself to get carried away by what you are feeling. We still have to make a choice about whether to trust them or not," she reminded her friend.

"They are not evil, Tara," Dawn shot back, a little heat entering her voice. "They just have a new view on how to protect us and make Sunnydale safe. Yes their methods are slightly more aggressive, but maybe that is what is needed, if we are ever to be really safe," she argued. "Don't you wish that for once we did not have to constantly patrol and risk our lives for this town?" she asked.

Tara closed her eyes for a few seconds, as an almost immediate answer came to mind. Yes she did want a time to come where they were not constantly fighting for their lives. 'Was that so wrong?' She asked herself. Could trusting Willow and the others truly lead to such a future? She wondered.

"Be honest Tara," Dawn said, "in your heart, do you trust them to never harm you?" she inquired. "Do you know that when they said they loved you, that they were telling the truth?" she asked a second later.

Tara knew the answer to both, without even thinking about it. "Yes I do and yes they were telling the truth, I could see it in their eyes," she answered.

"Then let us trust them and aid them in bringing what we both want to come true," Dawn responded with a smile. "Let them love us and let us love them, let us make this town finally safe from the nightmares we constantly have to fight," she continued. "Let us trust in them, as they have never let us down before," she stated with certainty.

"Yes," Tara couldn't help but respond, as Dawn got up and quickly moved over and climbed into her bed and pushed herself into her side.

"We have made our choice Tara, now sleep," Dawn said, closing her eyes and enjoying the fact Tara brought her arm around her and pulled her a little tighter.

"When did you get so insightful?" Tara asked, as she began to feel at peace again and also began to fall asleep.

"I had great teachers," was all Dawn would say with a small smile. Soon both girls fell into a deep blissful sleep.

(Rosenberg Residence)

Xander smiled as Faith and Willow slept on either side of him, completely exhausted from the night's fun. He was sure tomorrow would prove to be an interesting day full of changes. He hoped and prayed Ripper had succeeded in bringing Janna back and he also hoped Ethan was in a cooperative mood. Closing his eyes he finally joined his lovers in sleep, with his last thought being to wish Tara and Dawn were in this bed as well.


	6. Chapter 6

Betrayed Betrays Chapter 6

(Tara's Dorm)

Tara awoke to the feel of Dawn curled up at her side and she smiled for a few minutes, before the memories of last night came back to her and she frowned. She had to do something and quickly, before Dawn was subdued by what the others were doing.

Yes the feelings and emotions Willow stirred were exciting and made her want more, but she was still very unsure that what they were planning was the right thing to do. She refused to inform Buffy of this, as she knew these days the blond slayer would over react and with Spike pushing her on, she feared what would happen. She slowly disentangled herself and went to have a shower, before getting ready for the day. She just hoped that whatever she chose to do, would lead to the right path.

(Rosenberg Residence)

Willow, Xander and Faith sat at the table, awaiting the arrival of Ripper, Janna and Ethan who had called earlier, saying they needed to meet and discuss something very important.

Xander was slightly concerned by the tone of Ripper's voice, as he spoke, but he guessed they would have to deal with whatever the problem was, as they had with everything else they had dealt with.

Willow was reading a spellbook, whilst Faith was finishing off her breakfast.

Finally the door opened and Ripper and the others walked in. Xander quickly noted the tense look Ripper had in his eyes and it doubled his worry about what had happened.

Ethan was looking around in interest, before focusing on the three at the table. He remembered all three of these people from his previous encounters with the gang and still found it hard to believe what they had come up with so far.

Janna quickly moved forward and pulled Willow and Xander into a crushing hug, once they stood up in greeting, very pleased to see them again. Xander and Willow returned the hug, pleased to see Janna had indeed been allowed to come back by these mysterious guardians, Ripper had mentioned.

Finally they all sat down, once Xander had made everyone a drink, now it was time to get down to business.

"So Ripper, what was this important news you had?" Faith started.

"I'm afraid it is not exactly good news, but then again it is not that bad either. The guardians were informative more so than I had anticipated," Ripper began. "After the ritual was complete one of the guardians appeared before me and stated they were allowing Janna to return, because she was needed to retain the balance, although we still do not know exactly what that means," he continued. "He added in return for this, we would have to sacrifice someone in return and when I asked who was required, it stated quite clearly that Spike will do. This means we cannot just kill him, is that understood?" he asked, looking around the table.

He noted the rather annoyed look this got from Xander, which was not really surprising to him, as he knew how much he hated vampires in general, however Spike's actions of late had made him more of a target than even Angel had ever been.

Willow looked surprised by this news, but was more accepting of this development, as Faith seemed angry that she would not get a chance to stake the blond twit. Still in this they did not dare to refuse.

"I know how annoyed this must make you all, but we need to sacrifice Spike in the way this spell states to even out Janna's return and so control yourselves when it comes time to take him down." Ripper stated with a slight glare.

"Ok Ripper, we get the point," Xander relented, before downing some of his coffee. "No staking Spike, but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun with him, before we have to sacrifice him does it?" he asked.

"Of course not," Ripper replied. "We all have grudges to satisfy with this git and we will have our revenge on him, but in the end he goes to the guardians for his ultimate punishment," he added with a dark smirk, which was shared by nearly the whole table.

"Of course that was just the first part of what we were told," Janna spoke up, deciding to move this conversation onto what she considered as a far more important issue.

"What else did the Guardian tell you?" Willow inquired, still trying to get used to the fact that Janna was sitting at the table in front of her, alive and well, with no side effects as long as Spike got sacrificed.

"This is where things get somewhat complicated. The Guardian referred to Buffy as the dead Slayer and it stated clearly that Buffy was to be sent to them. It stated that she had never been in heaven before, but a different dimension which she assumed to be heaven and I am guessing Spike reinforced that belief to build her anger at us," he explained to them all. "They gave us a spell which will send Buffy to them. It is imperative that we do this, as they warned that if we did not, that the First Evil would execute its plan to wipe out the Slayer line," he added.

"What do you mean by that Ripper?" Faith inquired. Very alert now, as she noted how tense Xander and Willow became at this last piece of information.

"The first evil is exactly what it sounds like, Faith. We dealt with it before or at least its followers 'the bringers', however the guardian stated that when Willow returned Buffy to life, she breached the wards that kept the First contained.

It now plans to exterminate the entire Slayer line. Forever wiping out one of Earths most useful protectors," he answered. "To stop that happening, we have to return Buffy to the Guardians before it is too late. Many lives now rest on how we act," he warned them.

"What lives Ripper?" Willow asked. She felt disgusted at herself for what she had brought down on the world, in her arrogance and rush to supposedly save Buffy from a hell dimension.

"The potentials Willow. Every girl alive who has the potential to become the next slayer, if Faith passes on, which hopefully will not be for a very long time," Ripper explained. "The council keeps track of hundreds of girls who might be the next Slayer, as well as to take the ones they suspect the most possible of being the next, either under the wing of a watcher or to a base of operations the council has," he informed them "Their lives now rest on our actions and we dare not slip up," he stated.

The group, even Ethan, leaned back, as they absorbed this information. It was something they had never heard of before. In a way it made sense and they wondered why they had never thought about it before?

"This complicates things a little," Xander finally said, breaking the silence that had descended on the group. "We will have to deal with Spike and Buffy first, before we implement our plan to safeguard Sunnydale," he added, at the looks he received. "Dawn and Tara will have to be told about this, but they are still not with us completely," he continued, rubbing his brow in thought.

"I suggest we strike at Spike first and remove him from the picture altogether. We dare not delay things for too long," Ripper advised seriously. "He should be in his crypt and we can take him, as he cannot escape due to the sun being out," he reminded them.

"Ok, Willow you go with them and help to subdue Spike. I think with your magic combined you should have little trouble capturing him," Xander stated. "Faith and I will work on explaining this to Tara and Dawn," he added.

"I think that's a good plan. Dawn is close to joining us, but Tara is still weary of our intentions," Willow responded. "She just needs some convincing," she added impishly. "She'll most likely turn up here and confront us, so I advise you to just wait and let her come to you. Once you have convinced her Dawn should be easy to bring around," she stated with a smile.

"Are you so certain of that Willow?" Janna inquired. "We are talking about sending Buffy away permanently," she reminded the red head.

"True Janna, but not about killing her, you heard how Ripper said the guardian referred to Buffy as the dead Slayer, what does that sound like to you?" Willow shot back, but with no anger or frustration in her tone.

"That Buffy is dead already and has been since she died during the whole Glory affair," Janna replied with some hesitancy.

"Or that she's been dead since she died in the master's cave all the way back at the beginning," Xander suddenly interrupted. "Remember she did die back then and if not for me and Angel she would have stayed dead. Is it possible that even with her being brought back, it was not meant to be so?" he inquired.

Silence again descended over the group, as they thought over both options. Yet none of them could find a clear answer within themselves. No matter what they said, they could not argue with the guardians view of things, as in their eyes Buffy was already dead.

"Dawn will be upset, but I think she will understand that this is the only way to do what is right, not just for our sakes and the sake of the potentials you mentioned, but also for Buffy," Faith finally spoke, having thought long and hard on the subject.

"Buffy does not want to be here at all. She has no connections to her friends or even her own sister and she shows no remorse over the loss of her mother, as if her emotions have been stripped from her," she continued, as everyone turned their attention to her. "Maybe sending her to the guardians will finally bring peace to Buffy's soul and maybe reunite her with Joyce," she finished.

"Faith brings up good points on all subjects," Ripper said with a nod of agreement. "Maybe what you did to bring her back damaged her soul so much, so that her emotions and connections were stripped from her. Allowing Spike to sink his claws into her," he speculated.

"We broke the rules surrounding life and death and are paying the price, but sadly so is Buffy and she is to numb to realize it. To save her soul, we have to send her to the guardians, who will most likely place her in heaven with Joyce, where she belongs," he told them grimly. "It sounds harsh and cold, but it is exactly what we must do, as acts of penance for our own folly," he finished, refusing to discount his own mistakes in the whole situation.

"Dawn would agree with this," Xander stated, as he finished his drink and stood. "The person she lives with is not her sister, it is only a shell of Buffy Summers," he told them sadly. "Buffy was a great friend who risked her life, not just for us, but for others. Yes she made mistakes, but so did we all at one time or another and we have grown from those mistakes," he added. "What we did was out of our love for Buffy, but we never thought about the greater consequences of our own actions and because of that we are all paying for it. Buffy just as much as the rest of us and it is time we finish this," he pressed. "If the real Buffy was here, she would ask this of us, knowing it would protect hundreds of young girls as well as reunite her with Joyce and we all know that, so that is what we shall do," he finished, before collapsing back into his chair.

The silence that descended this time was depressive, as they all contemplated what they were going to do and what it would mean for them all, even Ethan was affected by the emotional tones of the group he found himself in. They were clearly joined by far more than loyalty, true honest to god friendship and love, the bonds they had formed were strong and this was taking a toll on them all.

Even with all, that had happened since Buffy had been brought back, they all remembered better times and their loyalty to that friendship remained deep in their hearts. What had been discussed brought new perspectives to the entire situation, especially concerning why Buffy was acting as she had been.

Willow was horrified to know, that by bringing Buffy back, she might have ripped her emotions and happy memories away from her, as well as put hundreds of young girls' lives at risk. They had to fix this and quickly she thought.

Xander leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair, as he contemplated what he had just said, even with all the anger and fury he felt currently at Buffy, it seemed the bonds of their friendship from before her death remained strong inside him. It had not accrued to him what kind of damage they might have inflicted in returning Buffy to life and now it has been made horrifyingly clear.

To save Buffy from their mistake they had to send her to the guardians.

Faith did not know how to feel one way or another, but she knew Buffy did not really deserve what had happened to her. She deserved to be reunited with her mother in heaven, after all the hardships she had been through and it seemed that was what would happen once they were done.

Janna believed everything that had been said sounded right. Having been returned to Earth by the guardians themselves she felt like she had never been gone, but Buffy had been brought back through the wrong means and she was no longer whole. She was only a shadow of her former self with no emotions, no connections and no real clear memory of the past.

Ripper was also rather reflective on the matter, but unlike his other self he felt no real pain at this outcome. What they had been told made sense to him and what they had agreed to do even more so. It did not change the actions they would take later on, once this had been taken care off he thought. Still had his other self been in charge, he bet he would agree with what had been planned, but with a very heavy heart.

"Ok, I think we best get going," Faith stated. "We have work to do and sitting here isn't going to do us any good," she added, shaking of her dark thoughts.

"I think Faith is right," Willow responded, as she stood up and prepared herself to help capture Spike. "We have a lot to do and we need to act quickly, before the First can execute its plan," she added seriously.

The others nodded and all climbed to their feet. After finishing their drinks Ripper, Ethan, Janna and Willow turned and left the house.

Xander watched them go and hoped Spike did not have some unexpected surprises in store for them. He wanted this done with, so that they could switch their focus on safeguarding Sunnydale.

(Summer's Residence)

Buffy awoke feeling cold and alone as she usually did, without Spike's presence these days and she wondered where her lover had been last night. She decided to have a talk with Spike later on. She had a quick shower and looking into Dawn's room noticed her supposed sister had not returned. She frowned and hated being ignored, before she stormed downstairs and made herself something to eat.

She wished once again for easier times like when her mother was still around, at least then she would not have all the pressure on her. Her life was a complete mess thanks to Willow and the others idiotic actions and she again cursed them. Where she had been before was peaceful, with no problems what so ever and she wished to go back there, but she knew that was impossible. All she could do was push on and make the best out of the situation, but the stress of being back was beginning to get to her and not even Spike could help her control her worsening despair. It was as if she was being swallowed completely by it.

She wondered when she would stop being persecuted by whatever greater power seemed to enjoy making her life a living hell. Since she had been chosen as the Slayer, her life had been horrible and she wanted it all to stop. Was that to much to ask she wondered?

(Spike's Crypt)

The door to the crypt flung open, as Willow asserted her power and she slowly followed Ripper and Ethan inside. They soon noted Spike was not in the top half of the crypt and so descended down into the lower half, where Spike seemed to keep a lot of his possessions. Again there was no sign of the vampire and they cursed, as it meant they would have to search for him. Willow knew tracking him would be hard, but they would find him.

(Drags Cave)

Spike groaned as he rolled over and clutched his head as the hangover he had made its presence known, even as a vampire getting drunk would lead to a damn headache, just no sickness. He wondered about that for a few minutes before shrugging his shoulders and looking around to see Drags passed out across from him. He frowned, as he knew it was properly daylight now, which meant he couldn't head back to his crypt, which was annoying as Drags had very little here, that could keep him occupied or interested.

Looking around for a bit he finally located something he could actually enjoy and that was a horror novel. It was not one he had read before and so he settled down and started to read it, hoping it had plenty of violence and blood in it.

(Rosenberg Residence)

Xander waited for Tara to turn up, as he knew Willow was properly right in what the girl would do, even if she was close to joining them, she would still try to protect Dawn, at least as she saw it, from their dubious actions as best she could. Faith had changed into a spare set of clothes consisting of another skirt and silk top. She was clearly intending to seduce Tara this time around, a plan he approved of.

They did not have much time to work on Tara and Dawn now with what they had been told and so he was determined to bring the two over to their side, as quickly as possible.

Amy would have to wait to be changed back from her rat form, until they were done with Spike and Buffy. A shame but it was necessary. He looked up, as there was a knock at the door and exchanged a look with Faith who smiled in anticipation, before nodding and heading for the door. Game time he thought.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 07

Betrayed Betrays Chapter 07

(Spike's Crypt)

Willow concentrated as she looked around Spike's dwelling. She tried to pick up anything that would aid her in tracking the vampire down. Ethan and Ripper waited, as their talents were not good for tracking. Finally her eyes lit up as she noted something with Spike's DNA all over it and a traceable scent, she smiled as she processed it and then she quickly left the crypt following the trails she could now see.

No matter where Spike had gone, she would find him and until they sacrificed him she would ensure he would suffer for his crimes. The very idea made her smile all the more at what would happen then.

Ethan watched the young woman work and had to admit he was becoming more and more impressed with her, he could now see why Ripper was intent on taking her as an apprentice. It made him wonder what the other young woman was like. He only vaguely remembered seeing Tara when he had come here to get revenge on Giles. If she was anything like Willow, then once they learned what he and Ripper knew, they would be a truly unstoppable team. Oh he was so very glad their plan included him in it for he could see endless possibilities.

Ripper himself just saw it as more proof of the mistakes his weaker self had made. This girl before him could have been his greatest success, but instead he had let fear and paranoia rule him. He shook his head and was pleased that he was free to make up for so many mistakes. He would train both Willow and Tara, once she had been brought around and ensure that they would be two of the greatest witches which ever walked on earth.

Janna who was also with them just watched them work, she was still getting used to be alive again. She was also still working on why the guardians had sent her here and what they had meant about retaining the balance. She was hoping it would not be anything too difficult if anything at all. For all she knew it could be just being back here was enough, once Spike and Buffy had been sent to the guardians. She took a deep breath before forcing the whole thing from her mind.

(Rosenberg residence)

Tara entered the house and nodded at Xander's greeting, but she instantly saw the hungry look in his eyes as she passed him. She felt his stare on her skirt covered ass and it made her very nervous as to how this meeting would play out. When her eyes locked on Faith she almost let out another whimper, as she saw the tight sliver silk top she wore which made her very aware of her impressive chest and dark brown skirt making her all the more sexy.

"Hello Tara" Xander's voice right behind her made her jump a little. "I'm afraid that Willow and the others had to leave to track down Spike," he explained.

"Why, what has happened?" she asked, while trying to ignore his close presence and focus on what he was telling her.

"Janna was indeed returned to us, but there was a price the guardians asked for," Xander responded and enjoyed the effect he was having on his friend and watched as Faith began to draw closer to her. "Spike has to be sacrificed to balance things out and they also want Buffy sent to them," he informed her.

"Why do they want Buffy?" Tara asked, turned around and faced him so she could look in his eyes when he explained this.

"They refer to Buffy as the dead Slayer. We believe either from the moment she was killed by Glory or even when I brought her back after the Master had killed her, she was dead in spirit," Xander answered locking eyes with her. "We think when Willow brought her back and we helped her we stripped Buffy of all of her happy memories and connections, thus making it easy for Spike to sink his claws into her and twist her mind against us," he continued. "She was not even in heaven. The guardians said she was trapped in another dimension, which she assumed was heaven, that has changed things and we had to push our plans forward," he finished.

Tara could see no lies from him so far and she quickly went over everything he had told her. It painted a chilling picture of how things had come to this point. She suddenly shivered as she felt Faith press up against her from behind and knew that whilst they were explaining important things to her they also intended to convince her to join them. She had mixed feelings on what to do in that regard, but a large part of her very much wanted to give in to their advances.

Her mind quickly locked onto something Xander had said and she went over it a few times, but she needed more information before she could see the whole picture.

"Even given what you've said why do they want Buffy given to them?" she asked.

"Willow accidentally breached the wards keeping the first evil in its prison and now it is free and set on wiping out the Slayer line completely and forever," Xander answered, his face deadly earnest which told her this was serious, as well as truthful. "Thousands of girls who have the potential to become Slayers will die, if we do not act and by sending Buffy to the guardians we will seal the breach and stop it, before it can harm them," he explained. "We hope this will also heal Buffy by returning to her what we accidentally took from her and reunite her with Joyce in the true heaven," he finished.

Tara could tell that he meant every word that he said and that relieved her greatly. It sounded that even with all the anger and hatred stirred up lately by Spike's corruption of Buffy that deep inside there was still the bonds of friendship between them. This changed things for her and made her see the more pressing needs the group must now be operating under, it also showed Willow and the others were still good people doing what they could to save thousands of innocent girl's lives before the first evil could strike and wipe them out.

She remembered the stories Willow had told her about this particular being and just thinking about it made her feel a deep chill inside her. The thought of it being loose to cause such havoc made her worry. She also saw that she had run out of time, she had to make a choice on what to do. She stared into Xander's eyes, as Faith pressed against her.

(Summer's Residence)

Dawn walked into the house feeling happy and free as she recalled the events of the previous night, it had been fun teasing Tara and she had clearly tempted her by the look she had seen in her eyes. Then there were the dreams Willow had projected into her mind making her climax in the same room as Tara, just as she had heard Tara do the same. This had increased the erotic atmosphere and allowed her to play with herself right where Tara could see and watch.

She suddenly came to a halt as she noted Buffy was in the living room and glaring at her. She was at least pleased and relieved that Spike was not also in attendance. She truly had begun to fear the vampire as events had unfolded, she did not want to see what might happen if she faced him without the support of her friends.

"Where the hell have you been Dawn?" she demanded and Dawn could not help but notice how much her sister tried to imitate their mother's movements and expressions, but failed miserably at that.

"I stayed the night at Tara's dorm," she responded and refused to be intimidated by her sister. "You may have thrown your friendships away with the others and forgotten just how much they and others have sacrificed for you over the years, but I have not and I never will," she vowed.

"They've done nothing for me but make my life hell and so have you," Buffy spat back, angered to see her sister defending her former friends. "They are nothing to me and if you side with them then you will mean nothing to me," she added with pure vermin in her tone.

Dawn did not even wince or feel any pain at this. The woman in front of her was not her older sister and especially not the one who had sacrificed her life to save hers. She turned and went to her room to pack some things and then she was going to go to Willow's and ask to stay there, this was no longer a home for her.

Buffy only watched her sister before she stormed out of the house growling, it was clear her supposed sister was not on her side and so she dismissed her from her mind and went to find Spike. Back upstairs Dawn made sure to pack her pictures of Joyce as well as a few from happier times with Buffy and the others. She also packed her favorite clothes and then turned and left and made sure not to look behind herself, she knew her mother would not exactly been pleased by her choice, but she was sure she would understand why she had made it.

(Rosenberg house)

Tara moaned and her head fell onto Faith's shoulder as she felt the older girl reach up and cup her breasts and begin to play with them. The sensations were increased by the shirt and bra she wore. Xander's intense gaze burned into her, as he watched what was happening. She could not stop what was about to happen. She wanted it so much and they had relieved many of her worries with what they had told her.

The sudden presence of Xander's hand right on her centre made her moan even more, as the dreams Willow had projected into her mind came back to her and made her quickly get hotter, she was theirs now she knew that in her heart and she loved that thought.

"Are you ready, Tara?" Xander asked, as he looked into her eyes and saw the lust and fire in them staring back at him. They had stroked the fires within her and now she was theirs, he was sure.

"Yes," was the only thing Tara could respond, before she pushed herself forward and pulled Xander into a deep probing kiss, which he eagerly returned and he quite enjoyed the sensation.

Faith smirked as Tara fell under their sway and joined them. She had been worried the witch would hold out, but now that she knew the whole story she was much more in tune with them. She quickly joined them and pulled Tara away and kissed her herself, she enjoyed the sensation very much and could not wait to get Tara naked.

The door opening behind them made them all spin to find Dawn had just entered. She looked a little down, but she quickly brightened when she noticed what had been going on. She dropped her bags and quickly locked the door and then approached the trio who watched her. She refused to discuss what had happened and quickly darted forward and locked herself into a passionate kiss with Tara, who could only moan and sink into it.

Faith and Xander exchanged brief looks before watching the two kiss and make out, as if they were the only two people in the room. When Dawn separated she then leaned up and kissed Xander, who eagerly returned it happy to see they now had both of them on side.

Faith pulled Tara away a little and quickly divested her of her blouse and bra and began to suckle one of her breasts, whilst playing with the nipple of the other, she smirked as Tara swayed a little at the pleasure she was feeling.

Dawn watched for a moment or two, as Faith and Tara went at it before turning back to Xander. She locked eyes on him and then simply pulled her t-shirt off leaving her in her bra. The look in Xander's eyes made her wet, thinking that her dream was about to come true. She quickly removed her bra, skirt and knickers.

"I want you to be my first," she stated as clearly as she could, wanting this more than anything else in this world.

"I'm honored," Xander replied, as he led Dawn to Willow's bedroom, followed by a now naked Faith and Tara who continued to trade kisses along the way.

Soon they were all on the bed with Faith already on top of Tara suckling her breasts and three fingers buried within her. Tara could only moan and watch Faith play with her.

Xander meanwhile carefully took Dawn and tried to be as careful as possible, as he took her virginity. Dawn cried out in pain at first, but she quickly shoved that away and focused on what was happening. Xander began slowly to ensure he did not hurt Dawn, as he knew the first time was painful for girls. He leaned down and captured her lips in a deep kiss before letting go and then playing with her breasts which made her moan and wiggle beneath him.

He quickly turned them around so that Dawn was on top and had a brief thought that Dawn looked like a goddess, as she moved up and down, beside them Tara quickly reached a powerful climax and lay panting, as Faith kissed her again. She felt safe and secure right now as she turned her head slightly and watched Dawn lose herself to Xander and she was very interested in what it would feel like.

"Don't worry Tara," Faith said, seeming to read her mind. "You turn will be soon enough," she added, as she leaned over and took one of Dawn's breasts into her mouth and began to suckle it, which made Dawn's arch backwards and moan in pleasure.

(Drag's cave)

Willow paused near the entrance to the cave, as she felt something at the back of her mind. She reached out with her mind and senses and soon felt it was her connection to Xander. He was trying to show her something, she opened herself up to whatever it was he wanted to show her. She almost stumbled as she was assaulted by pleasure beyond what she felt before and the images that went with it were very enticing.

"Willow, are you okay?" Janna asked, as she helped the red head to a nearby rock and helped her sit down.

"Yeah, Xander was just showing me something," Willow responded with a smirk across her whole face. "He just forgot to warn me it came with full sensory input. I now know what Tara and the others must have felt when I projected mine and Xander's love making into their minds," she added.

Janna blushed a little at that, but shared a smile at what must be going on right now. She was pleased that things between the group, with the exception of Buffy, were still so strong. She glanced back at where Ripper and Ethan were talking, clearly giving them some space. She turned back to Willow and watched, as the girl seemed to concentrate for a minute and then relaxed and smiled again.

"What did you do?" she couldn't help but ask.

I told him thanks for the update and then stated I'd get back at him for not warning me before hand what he was showing me," Willow answered. "Tara and Dawn are with us now, although Dawn showed up looking like she has left home. Something must have happened, but she didn't want to discuss it," she explained and was very concerned about what could have happened between Dawn and her sister and she hoped Spike had not been involved in it.

"How do you communicate with Xander across such distances?" Janna inquired, very interested if magic was involved.

"Ever since we were young Xander and I have been able to talk without speaking and we knew what the other was thinking or feeling," Willow answered after a small pause. "I sadly threw this away when I let Buffy come between us, but since we made love it has come back stronger than ever before. It is almost as if our minds have become joined or linked together," she explained. "It is truly an amazing feeling and one I treasure. It makes me realize how much I've thrown away while I tried to make Buffy happy," she continued.

Janna was amazed at this. She wondered if a part of it was the deep connection she had always seen between the two childhood friends that had caused this link Willow had described. Maybe there was something else involved entirely, but still she was impressed.

Willow remained seated for a few more minutes before getting back up and heading for the cave entrance. Now that Tara and Dawn were with them their plans could go forward once they had sacrificed Spike and sent Buffy to the guardians.

Ethan, Janna and Ripper all followed her into the cave, ready for a fight. Spike was instantly on his feet, as he sensed the newcomers. He growled as he realized he could not run, as it was still daylight outside. Drags seemed to sense the intruders as well and quickly grabbed a weapon from the side, because it was daylight he could not transform into his demon side which was another problem.

He snarled as he saw Willow, Giles, a person he knew to be dead and the chaos mage Ethan walk into the cave. What the hell was going on he thought? How was all this possible, especially the dead woman being there, was this some kind of trick?

(Rosenberg house)

Dawn continued to match Xander's increasing pace loving every moment of what was happening and it was made all the more pleasurable with Faith and Tara sucking and playing with her breasts at random intervals. She moaned again as the sensations built up around her as Xander pulled her down and kissed her. She finally climaxed and quickly felt him follow right after her, which made her moan all the more, from the sides Tara and Faith watched as she collapsed against his chest.

"How was it Dawn?" Faith asked, as she pulled the younger girl up and kissed her lightly before pulling back.

"It was wonderful and everything I dreamed off. He was gentle and so it did not hurt much," Dawn responded, as she was pulled off Xander and into Faith's arms.

Faith smirked and glanced over at Tara who was looking very curious. She knew exactly what must be going through the girl's mind, but was content to let her decide what to do. Xander leaned back feeling very content and amazed Dawn had wanted him to be her first. He then thought to back to what he had done to Willow and smiled as he imagined her reaction and the promise she had made afterwards. He looked forward to whatever she could come up with, he was very surprised when Tara crawled on top of him and guided him into her entrance.

"I want you to fuck me too," she told him, but he could clearly see some fear in her eyes. "Please be gentle, like you were with Dawn?" she requested.

"I promise I will," Xander replied, as she pressed down on him and she soon entered her, breaking her hymen and making her cry out in pain.

He quickly stopped her from pulling away and told her to just wait and get used to the sensation. Soon she began to move at Dawn's gentle urging, who also told her it would get better. Faith watched Xander deflower Tara and reached down and inserted three fingers into Dawn, making her fall backwards into her and begin moaning and groaning as she lost herself to her lust.

Xander slowly increased the pace, as he had done with Dawn, but ensured he was even gentler with her. It was clear that Tara was afraid of men for a reason and although she was clearly a virgin he suspected she had still been abused in the past by a man. He leaned up and kissed her, before he moved down to her breasts and nipples. Tara allowed the pleasure and sensation to overwhelm her and replace the pain she had felt when Xander had penetrated her.

She had always wondered what making love with a man would be like and whilst it was not as good as she had experienced with Willow and her only other female lover it was still enjoyable. She increased her own pace, pleased that he was giving her control before whimpering as he playfully bit her right nipple. She locked eyes with Xander as she suddenly felt a surge of pleasure and she finally climaxed with Xander following a few seconds later. She groaned as he kissed her before pulling her against her chest where she tried to recover.

Another groan of pleasure made her glance sideways and she watched as Faith brought Dawn to what looked like a very pleasurable climax as well. They all collapsed against their respective partners and now rested. All of their minds wondering how the future would play out once everything had been dealt with and one by one they soon fell asleep.

(Drag's cave)

The standoff continued, as they all looked across the cave at one another taking in the situation and trying to see a way of coming out on top, Willow glanced at the others and using her hands she motioned them into a defensive stance, which blocked the exit. They did not need Spike escaping and making it to Buffy. If she got involved this would become all the more difficult.

Spike calculated the odds and they did not look too good to him, what he needed was to get out of here and get Buffy's help, but getting out was impossible because of the bright sunlight outside. If he somehow could escape, he could quickly make this look like they tried to kill him and have Buffy make them very sorry for harming him, but at the moment he did not see any way of doing that, so all he did was wait.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

(Rosenberg house)

Tara moaned as she felt Xander continue to push into her from behind, she had begun to take a shower when he had arrived behind her. Not caring in the least that she had only just lost her virginity to him and was still sore, she could also hear Dawn's moan from the bedroom and knew Faith had to be the one causing them. This intensified the feelings already assaulting her. His hands were on her breasts massaging and playing with them in turn. Neither paid any attention to the hot water pouring down on them from the shower. She allowed her head to fall onto his shoulder which gave him access to her neck and he began to trail kisses down it. She placed one of her hands above her to pull him closer and then she hissed a little as he gently bit down on her neck marking her as his.

She didn't care that there would be a mark left on her neck, she just moaned and allowed the pleasure to rule her. She had never felt so free as she did right then, she felt Xander's hands move down her slim waist and then to the back of her legs. Knowing what he intended she braced herself as he easily lifted her up into his arms. She let out a louder moan as the pleasure increased at the new position and she relaxed completely in his arms. Xander increased the pace of his thrusts as he neared his release. The combined moans of Tara and Dawn who was with Faith in the bedroom urged him on. Keeping his hold on Tara he finally reached his limit and exploded inside her. Tara's head shot upwards as she let out one last throaty moan before she followed him and climaxed too. Her head rolled back onto his shoulder and she closed her eyes briefly as the feelings of their union ran over her. Dawn's cries echoed their own as she too orgasmed as Faith finished bringing her off. Tara finally opened her eyes again and glanced back to look at her lover who smiled back at her. She brought her hand to his head and pulled down for a slow passionate kiss which he eagerly returned. When they pulled away they stared into each other's eyes for a few moments. Tara smiled as she saw love and warmth reflected in Xander's eyes and she knew she had not made a mistake in joining him and the others.

Xander finally set her down and quickly had to steady her as her legs almost gave out. After a few seconds she seemed to find her balance and began to wash herself once again. Xander joined her, but this time he did not try and make lover to her again. They needed to get ready to help Willow and the others to capture Spike. Who he knew had been cornered in a cave thanks to his link with Willow. They just had to be fast now. In the bedroom Dawn lay on the bed completely sated after having Faith take her again. She was drained of energy, but happy and had completely forgotten her blow out with Buffy earlier. Faith lay next to her quite sated herself and had begun to doze lightly. She felt more content now than she had ever before felt in her life.

A few minutes later Xander came out and told them both to have a shower and get dressed. Dawn instantly complied, but Faith was still sleepy until Xander picked her up and dropped her into the shower much to her protest. Tara giggled at the display as did Dawn. Faith, now very much awake, gave Xander a small glare which just made her look all the sexier to Xander as she sat there getting wet in the shower.

"You are going to pay for this Xander," Faith growled out as she got up and began to wash herself. "I swear," she added, even though he knew she was not as serious as she sounded.

"I'm sure I will Faith," Xander told her as he leaned against the door with Tara beside him as they were now dressed and ready. "In fact I look forward to whatever you come up with," he added with a smirk.

Faith glanced at him before she shared his smile and went back to her shower. Dawn quickly finished hers and dried herself before getting dressed. Faith finally was ready after another five minutes.

"Ok, Willow and the others have Spike cornered in a cave and we are going to go and help them bring him in," Xander told them once they were all armed and ready. "He has to be sacrificed if the balance for Janna's return is to be corrected, so we can't let him get away," he stated seriously.

"I can transport us there, although it will leave me a little drained," Tara suggested, wanting to help any way she could.

"Dawn will stick close to you so she can cover you. We have to risk it if we are to capture Spike," Xander decided after thinking it over for a few moments. "That bastard is just too good at escaping for us to do anything else," he explained.

"I agree," Faith responded with a nod of her head. "Everything I've heard about this guy and seen with my own eyes says we can't let him have a chance to get away," she concluded.

"I trust Dawn to be able to watch me if I'm too drained to protect myself, so let's do it," Tara offered with a light smile at the younger girl.

"Are you sure Tara?" Dawn inquired somewhat nervous. While her skills with both sword and crossbow were up to scratch that didn't mean she did not feel uneasy about defending a friend and lover.

"Of course I'm Dawn," Tara replied with a reassuring smile. "Trust in yourself as we trust you and you will not fail," she advised and that seemed to boost Dawn's confidence as she nodded and looked ready.

"Ok Tara, let's go," Xander said as he readied his sword just in case a fight had already started.

Tara took a deep breath before she began to chant. She marshaled her magic and a minute later she finished her chant and they all vanished from the house in a flash of light.

+BB+

(Drags Cave)

Spike looked for a way out as Willow and the others spread out to box him in, this was not good. He had no way out as the sun was still out, which meant he couldn't run. Plus the sun would prevent Drags from being able to change into his demon form. A sudden flash of light blinded him for a few seconds and once it faded he was angered to see that Xander, Tara, Faith and Dawn had arrived. Although seeing Tara almost collapse made him feel slightly better, Dawn quickly brought up a crossbow and aimed it right at him.

"Glad you could join the party," Ripper spoke up and was grinning as now they had the numbers to subdue Spike and his friend.

"Wouldn't have missed it Ripper," Xander shot back with a dark smile that told Spike all he needed to know.

They were here to take him out as a last ditch effort to save Buffy from his plans. He let out a growl of frustration as everything before this had been going his way. He had the blond Slayer under his complete control. She had broken all bonds of friendship with her friends and trusted no one but him. He had not expected her friends to rally against him. He had thought they would just leave them alone, fearful of angering Buffy any further. That would allow him to raise his own forces and wipe out what was left of the group who had defeated him time and again.

"So you think you've got me, do you?" Spike finally growled out as he continued to look for anyway out of this mess.

"Oh we aren't so stupid as to think we have you completely Spike," Willow snarled with a deep seated hate surfacing in her voice as she spoke- "We know how good you are at running away," she added with a sneer.

Spike growled and stepped forward to hit the annoying red head, even if it caused him a huge amount of pain from the damn chip in his head. Xander however quickly backed him off with his sword and a harsh glare that promised him huge amounts of pain if he did not back away.

"We know you Spike, no matter what you've fooled Buffy into believing," Xander stated, he glared at him hating the blond haired vampire even more than he had ever hated Angel or even Angelus. "You haven't changed one bit, you plan to rule Sunnydale as you always wanted. You want us all dead and we are not going to allow you to do either," he told him.

"Oh yeah, Droopy?" Spike drawled out in a bored tone. "You and what army?" he asked with a snort of disgust, even if he was beginning to worry there was no way out.

"Are you blind scumbag?" Faith shot back as she hefted a stake and twirled it in her hands a few times. "We are the army," she added with a smirk. "Five magic users, one Slayer, two trained fighters against you and your friend who I can sense is a demon of some kind," she continued. "You are outnumbered and out classed on every level," she stated confidently.

"I'm going to drain you all fucking dry," Spike swore. "I'll get out of here believe me I will. I will then gather my own army and wipe you all out," he continued to rant.

"No you won't," Ripper snarled as he shot out his hand and allowed a blast of pure magical energy to fly at Spike.

The vampire was lifted off his feet and smashed into the wall of the cave with such force that the rock actually cracked a little. Ethan was right behind his old friend and did the same to Spike's ally only with a bit more force. Drags collapsed to the ground and moaned in pain, wishing it was night time so he could transform into his more powerful demon form.

"Nice shot," Janna said as she eyed both men with a critical eye as she witnessed the ease of which they had just done that. She wondered why Ripper's older weaker self had held back so damn much.

"You have to show us how to do that," Willow added with a glance back at them. "Even now I could not focus so much magic to do that," she admitted.

"It takes some time to learn how to do it properly," Ethan responded, keeping his eye on their two targets who continued to try and regain focus. "And you need to build up your reserves of magic. Hence the need to train a lot something Ripper, our friends and I used to do all the time," he explained.

"For that I'm going to rip your damn head off and then I'm going to drain you and turn your damn girlfriend," Spike snarled in rage as he forced himself back to his feet, not caring for the odds anymore or the pain the chip would inflict on him for his actions. "Yeah I remember her and I know she is supposed to be dead already," Spike added as he noted how flat Ripper's gaze was at his announcement. "It will be my great honor to kill her again," he finished as he prepared to attack. He had no idea of the difference between Giles and Ripper, thus was acting on the false belief he would use little true force.

"I always knew you were an idiot Spike," Willow said with a shake of her head as Tara finally began to feel stronger. Her magic returned to her and she stood up to stand in between Xander and Willow. Dawn moved to her side and kept her crossbow ready.

Ripper let out a growl as he summoned as much power as he could muster and prepared to flay Spike alive, but Willow sensing the build-up placed her hand on his chest and pushed him backwards breaking his concentration. His glare shot to her, but she did not back down. Janna moved to assist her in calming Ripper down before he made a huge error.

"We need him alive so we can sacrifice him, remember?" Willow reminded him heatedly. "We can't do that if your destroy him," she added with a glare of her own.

Spike saw a moment of opportunity and tried to rush the group and make a break for the opening of the cave, he didn't care about the sunlight right now. All he cared for was escaping these twits, before they actually dusted him. He didn't pay much attention to Willow's comment about sacrificing him, they were the white hats and wouldn't do anything like that he thought. Faith had been waiting for Spike to make a break for it and leveled him with a hard right hand to his chest. He collapsed to the ground and moaned in pain. He had actually felt two of his ribs crack there. He cursed the dark haired Slayer and wished she had stayed in her damn coma.

"You are not leaving Spike," Faith told him as she stood over him with a look of hatred marring her features. "Not after everything you have done, which includes killing two Slayers," she added her tone darkening somewhat and she wondered how Buffy could ever listen to someone who had actually killed two of their brethren. Hell he had even bragged about it and yet she could still claim she loved him. It made her feel sick.

Drags finally managed to shake off the blow he had taken from Ethan's magical attack and got back up. He noted Spike was on the ground and clearly injured and their attackers were still blocking their exit. He glanced around for a weapon and noted a nearby baseball bat. He grabbed it and prepared to attack.

Xander noted his move and got ready to meet the attack. However Dawn was faster and unleashed her crossbow bold straight into Drags heart. The half demon henchman looked down at the bolt for a second or two and then collapsed to the ground and blood began to seep from the wound. Spike muttered under his breath as he watched Drags go down. Now the odds were even more against him. His only hope now lied on Buffy finding him and that hope was quickly fading.

+BB+

(Spike's Crypt)

Buffy looked around the crypt alert for danger because the door to the crypt had been almost blown off its hinges, someone had clearly come after Spike. 'But who had?' she wondered, as she continued to look around. 'Who had the guts to come after her lover?' Frowning she suddenly realized she already knew who it might have been. A loose growl slipped her lips as she wondered if her formers friends had decided to kill Spike. The very idea made her madder than she had been when she finally turned her back on them.

There was no sign that Spike had been dusted as there was no vampire dust on the ground, which was a relief to her at least. She hoped he had managed to escape his attackers. 'But where would he go?' she pondered. Her place more than likely, but what if he couldn't make it. She would continue her search and if in an hour she hadn't found him then she would head back home, just in case he had managed to lose his attackers and made it to her house.

She exited the crypt and headed for the next cemetery hoping that was where Spike might have headed for, as long as there was a way for him to avoid the sun. If whoever attacked Spike turned out to be Xander and the others then she was really going to hurt them, because then they were trying to make her life even more of a struggle than it already was.

+BB+

(Drags Cave)

Tara finally felt strong enough to hold her own and thus moved forward a little as did Faith. Dawn kept pace as she loaded another crossbow bolt. They didn't know if Spike's friend was dead or not, but they wanted to make sure he was. Xander remained where he was near the exit to the cave. He didn't want Spike escaping if he could help it. Willow moved to his side along with Janna, while Ripper and Ethan moved to backup Tara and the others.

"Is he dead?" Dawn inquired as she pointed her reloaded crossbow at the demon, just in case

"He still breathes, but the crossbow went straight into his heart," Faith told them as she checked the demon out. "Nice shot Dawn," she added with a grin at the younger girl who returned it pleased she had been able to hit the target she was aiming for.

"Finish it Faith," Xander cut in as he glared down at Spike who was beginning to look like he has recovered from Faith's strike to his ribs.

Faith didn't even think twice about it and used a knife she had brought with her to remove the demons head from its body. The demon managed a weak moan, but could do little to stop the dark haired Slayer. Dawn looked away not wanting to see the blood that came pumping out of the decapitated demon. Tara also had to look away as the demons blood was very much red like that if a human.

"You damn white hats," Spike grunted as he pushed himself into a sitting position. "You always have to ruin things," he complained.

"Considering it is you we are talking about here Spike, don't expect us to be sorry about that fact," Ripper growled out as he stormed over, picked the blond vampire up and head-butted him with enough force to break Spike's nose.

Spike grunted in pain as he was dropped to the ground again and before he could do much else Xander kicked him in his newly healed ribs making him feel even more pain. Willow suddenly looked towards the entrance to the cave and narrowed her eyes. The ward she had placed around the cave area had been tripped and she could already guess who it was.

"Buffy is here. We must leave now or end up fighting her," Willow spat.

Xander growled and heaved Spike back to his feet and Faith quickly moved and pinned the vampire's arms behind his back, so he could not fight Xander's hold on him. Tara, Willow and Janna began to chant the spell to transport them back to the Magic Box where they would sacrifice Spike. The others moved into a circle around them, hoping they would be in time. A few moments later they all vanished, just as Buffy stormed into the cave, all she saw was a flash of light which quickly faded.

+BB+

(Magic Box)

Tara let out a brief sigh that they had avoided coming face to face with Buffy. She didn't look forward to when it came time to subdue the blond haired Slayer. Dawn echoed her sigh as she put her crossbow down and collapsed into a nearby chair. She didn't want to see her sister right now if she could help it. Faith nailed Spike across the back of his head and the vampire collapsed before he could do anything to escape once Faith let go of his arms.

"That was close," Ethan muttered as he moved to sit down. "Blondie could have ruined everything," he added with a shake of his head.

"True and more than likely Spike would have escaped, while we were busy dealing with her," Ripper agreed as he leaned against the counter. "But we did get the git and now we sacrifice him and be done with it," he stated as he glared down at Spike's fallen form.

"I agree," Xander joined the conversation. "We can't wait, no matter how much we would like to drag this out and make him suffer," he continued as he ran a hand through his hair. "The longer we wait the more chance Buffy will show up and mess everything up," he added.

"And we can't afford that as time is against us," Willow picked up from where he had left off. "We have to correct the balance now or else there may be repercussions for us all and Janna especially," she pointed out.

The others all agreed with her there and Janna did not particularly like the idea, but she knew until they sacrificed Spike she would not be safe. They had to balance things again if she was to remain here and that was something she wanted to do.

+BB+

(Drags Cave)

Buffy knelt next to the corpse and wondered who this was and why someone had killed him. The fact he had been decapitated made her think a demon had done this. However whoever it was had vanished by way of magic, part of her believed this may be Xander and the others. Maybe Spike had come here for help. The body had bled red blood so maybe he had been human. 'But then why was he living in a cave?' Buffy wondered.

'Damn it,' she thought bitterly as she had wanted to find Spike fast. Now she guessed he was either captured or on the run. She would head home like she planned just in case he had managed to reach it. If not then she would see what Xander and the others knew about Spike's disappearance. And if they were behind it then God help them all, because she would make them all pay she vowed, not caring in the least that it went against everything the Slayer was supposed to stand for.

+BB+

(Magic Box)

Spike groaned as he began to wake up. Opening his eyes he noted his chest was bare and someone had painted glowing runes on his chest and he was also chained up and could go nowhere. He looked around wildly and noted the upper level of the shop had been set up for what only could be a sacrifice. 'No, this had to be a joke,' he thought. The white hats wouldn't do this kind of thing. There was no way as they did not have what it took to do a true sacrifice.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing?" he demanded to know.

"What does it look like Spike?" Dawn was the one who answered him as Willow, Tara, Janna, Ripper and Ethan were still finishing their preparations for the sacrifice and Xander and Faith had gone to scout out her home to see what Buffy was up to.

"It looks like you are trying to scare me, that's what," Spike shot back, trying to stay confident.

"Keep thinking that vampire," Dawn responded with a tone that said she didn't care one way or another. "Your end is coming," she stated as she moved away, but she kept her crossbow trained on him just in case.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

(Summers Residence)

Buffy stormed into her house in an increasingly bad mood, she had been attacked by no less than four vampires on the way back which had delayed her attempts to locate Spike. She had no idea where the four had come from, or why they all seemed to want to take her on at that particular time. She had made sure they had all paid for the delay they had caused her. She quickly began calling for Spike as she rushed through the house, but no one replied. Her anger increased as she decided it was time to pay Xander and the others a visit and see what they knew about Spike. Before leaving she went to her weapons chest and pulled one of her favorite swords out, she also grabbed the dagger she had used on Faith as she went evil and placed it in her belt. Then she turned and stormed back out the house. The others better have the answers she wanted or things were going to turn ugly.

Xander and Faith watched from behind a hedge as Buffy first went into the house only to tear right back out of it moments later, only this time she was armed. It didn't take a rocket scientist to guess where she was heading. He glanced at Faith and noted the dark gaze she wore as she watched Buffy vanish down the road.

"You okay Faith?" he asked as he pulled his mobile and called Tara to warn her about Buffy being on her way.

"That dagger in her belt was the same one she used to almost kill me the first time I was in town," Faith answered as she turned to look at him. "She fucking kept it, and now she has taken it for what I am sure in her mind is a threat to me," she added her tone becoming darker. "If she wants a rematch Xan, I'll give it to her," she stated.

"Easy Faith, remember this is just a shell of who Buffy used to be," Xander cautioned her as he finished his call to Tara. "She may have kept it because it was just a nice knife," he told her although she could tell by the sound of his voice he didn't really believe it.

"We better get back and prepare to meet Buffy head on," Faith said, deciding to change the subject.

"Let's go," Xander said as he allowed her to change the touchy subject they had been discussing. They both got up and began to run as hard as they could so they could beat Buffy back to the shop.

+BB+

(Magic Box)

Tara closed her phone in concern. They didn't have much time left to complete the sacrifice before Buffy showed up and all hell broke loose. She moved forward to where Willow was awaiting her part in the ritual. The red head glanced at her and noted her concerned look.

"Buffy is on her way," Tara admitted.

"We knew she would come here in time and we should be done before she does so," Willow replied confidently. "Have faith honey," she added with a small pun at the end.

"I will when she gets back," Tara shot back, unable to stop herself replying as she really wanted to have Faith, so far they had only felt one another up and kissed heatedly. "And once we are done sending Buffy where she belongs," she added.

"I am sure Faith will love eating you up," Willow assured her with a sexy smile that made Tara want to melt, but she forced herself to focus as they had no time for that now.

They both turned back to the ritual as Janna began her part in the ritual sacrifice as Ethan and Ripper had already completed theirs. Waves of magic hovered over Spike who was now staring silently at his doom. Although shock had something to do with his silence and the other major fact for it was that Dawn had slapped a lot of tape over his mouth to stop him shouting and disrupting the whole thing. She now stood of to the side with the tranquilizer gun at the ready. She would be their first defense if Buffy got here before they finished sacrificing Spike. Tara would be the next in line as she had no part in the ritual as it only needed four people to do it. She had already prepared a freezing spell should it be needed.

"This is going to be close isn't it?" Tara inquired a little nervous about the coming to a confrontation with Buffy.

"Yes it is," Willow agreed with a nod of her head. "But don't worry Xander and Faith will be back before Buffy turns up," she assured her. "We'll have the advantage," she stated before Janna gave her a look and she stepped forward to begin her part of the ritual.

Tara watched her go somewhat reassured about how all this would turn out, but she would only feel better when Xander and Faith got back. They were stronger together than they were apart. That was the one vital thing she had learned from being involved in this group. Their combined strengths made them a much stronger unit which so far had been able to hold the Hellmouth against some very great threats. The most dangerous had of course been the hell goddess Glorificus, the fight against her had of course led to Buffy's death and thus led to the events that were now transpiring.

Had it not been for Buffy's death as she closed the portal Glory's minion had opened, then Spike would never have been able to take advantage of her in her current state. They should have never tried to bring her back. It had been their ultimate mistake. But with their belief that Buffy was in a hell dimension then, how couldn't they act? In the end it had led to Buffy's downfall in a sense, even if the Buffy they were fighting was not the Buffy they had once known. She couldn't help but wonder what the real Buffy would think if she could see what they had brought about. 'How would she react to this mess?' she wondered.

Spike tried to scream through the tape over his mouth as he felt the magic begin to take effect, whatever they were doing made him feel as if he was pulled apart. The pain was agonizing as the magic continued to play over him, his only hope was that Buffy found him in time to stop the ritual from being completed. One thing that kept repeating in his mind was the craziness factor, of the white hats actually sacrificing him. He would never have believed in a thousand years that they could have the balls to do this to anyone, but especially to him. He supposed he should be grateful that Angel wasn't here to see this, as that would have been all the more degrading to him. He heard all four of the spell casters begin to speak now and as the magic increased, he realized the end for him was coming.

The door to the shop opened and Dawn quickly brought up the tranquilizer gun even as Tara moved to her side just in case it was Buffy. They were both relieved to see it was only Xander and Faith. Xander looked slightly out of breath while Faith looked as she usually did. It was clear they had run here to beat Buffy and it had clearly taken its toll on Xander, while Faith as the Slayer could run almost nonstop of course.

"You okay Xander?" Dawn asked somewhat confused as Xander collapsed into a chair beside her, he was red in the face and breathing hard.

"He'll be fine," Faith assured her. "He just needs a few moments to catch his breath, we had to really high tail it over here to beat B," she told her. "How is it going here?" she inquired as she began to load up the crossbow Giles kept behind the counter in case of trouble.

"I think the ritual is reaching its apex Faith," Tara informed her, she was just glad Willow had been right and they had gotten back here before Buffy arrived for what would be a big showdown.

"Good, B will be here soon," Faith shot back as she placed a few spare arrows on top of the counter for easy reach. "She didn't look to be in a good mood when she left her house," she warned them. "So expect her to come barging in ready for a fight," she added.

"I think we are ready for her," Dawn shot back as confidently as she could. Although she was certain the others knew she was scared of actually confronting what was left of her sister. She just hoped she would not let them all down by freezing.

Before anyone else could say anything the ritual reached its end and the magic washed over the room before it seemed to focus on Spike. The vampire's body jerked and spasmed, they could all hear his muffled cries and screams, but they ignored them. This vampire had earned the most painful end they could give him; they all agreed on that point. Not one of them would feel any mercy for his suffering; his many victims would hopefully gain some small measure of peace from this moment. Tara noticed Willow's eyes had turned black as the power washed over her. Her red hair was now also tinged with black giving her a more exotic look if she did say so herself. Janna also seemed to be affected the same way although the streams in her hair seemed to turn her hair even blacker. Ethan and Ripper however seemed immune to the currents of magic they had unleashed around them.

"Holy shit," Faith whispered as she felt the magic swirl around her, the fact she was the Slayer seemed to make her acutely aware of the power this ritual had called upon.

Spike's eyes turned white as the power continued to bear down on him, he lost the feeling in his limbs and he knew it was over. He had been so close to having it all with Buffy in his control. He would have been able to finally gain control of the Hellmouth. He would then have killed her former friends to ensure they would never again threaten him, but now it would never be. He had underestimated them and once again paid the price. He could only curse them one last time before he let another wail as his body was vaporised as the magic seemed to explode outward and then vanish.

"That sounded really painful," Dawn stated with wide eyes.

Ethan and Ripper collapsed to the floor, almost completely drained as they had borne the brunt of the ritual. Janna and Willow moved to sit down, they had not been as badly affected, as their parts had been smaller than the other two's.

"Good, if anyone deserved such a painful death he did," Ripper groaned as he raised a hand to his face and rubbed his eyes.

"Did we do it right?" Janna inquired as she looked around, wondering if something else was supposed to happen. This ritual sacrifice was supposed to balance out her return to life, if they messed it up then it was possible she might just fade away.

"I believe so," Ethan assured her with a short smile as he pushed himself to his feet and leaned against the wall. "Everything was done as was directed on the scroll the guardians gave us," he reminded her.

Ripper finally pushed himself back to his feet and moved to her side and pulled her into a sideways hug. He knew she was worried they may have slipped up, but he was certain they had gotten everything right. Janna was going nowhere. She was where she belonged, by his side.

+BB+

(Sunnydale)

Buffy growled as she slammed the vampire into the wall, she was beyond pissed now. It seemed for some reason the vampires were coming out in numbers this night to attempt to kill her. The delays this had cost her in getting to the Magic Box were making her anger spike beyond all previous levels. She broke the arm of the vampire she was fighting uncaring of his cries of pain as she flipped him to the ground before she pulled her stake and staked him. She picked her sword back off the ground and rushed forward, she was intent on reaching the shop before anymore vampires turned up. As she turned the corner she witnessed a flash of light from the Magic Box. She paused as she watched the light play through the windows and wondered what the source was. Was Willow messing around with magic again or was it something else, something worse? She rushed onwards towards the shop that lay at the end of the street, hoping that whatever the group was up to had nothing to do with Spike's disappearance.

+BB+

(Magic Box)

Xander finally felt a lot better now after running for so long to get here before Buffy did. It had completely drained him and left him breathless. Now it had passed and seeing Spike finally destroyed made him feel even better. They were now one step closer to ensuring the safety of the Slayer line and the Hellmouth itself. Just as he was about to get up and join the others the door to the shop was broken inwards. They all turned to watch Buffy storm into the Magic Box, armed with a sword and a stake. The look on her face told them all that she was pissed off. She raised the sword and pointed it at them.

"Where is Spike?" she demanded in a tone that promised pain if they did not give her the answer she wanted.

"How the hell should we know B?" Faith shot back as she put the crossbow back down on the counter. If this broke into a fight she wanted to engage Buffy hand to hand, and prove once and for all who the better Slayer was.

"We haven't see your damn pet since our last little talk Buffy," Xander growled out, unable to stop himself from feeling the hatred and anger that last meeting had caused in him.

Even though he knew the truth that this was not the real Buffy Summers, he could not stop himself from wanting to attack her for the things she had said and done since they had brought her back. Glancing at Willow, he noted her eyes had darkened greatly and it was clear he was not the only one fighting that particular urge right now.

"Don't lie to me Xander," Buffy spat in response, pointing her sword at him. "You were never any good at it, now tell me what the hell you have done with my boyfriend?" she ordered.

"Get it into your head Buffy. We didn't do anything to Spike," Willow shot back as she stepped in front of Xander. "Why the hell would we want anything to do with that piece of slime?" she inquired.

"You think you are so smart don't you Willow?" Buffy replied with a sarcastic smile as she stepped forward. "I saw the light show that was going on in here before I entered, you were up to something and I bet my life it had to do with Spike," she told them. "Now where is he?" she demanded once more. "This is the last time I will ask," she warned them.

"Is that a threat?" Ripper inquired almost eager for a fight to start, even as Janna raised a hand to his chest to keep him calm.

"Are you deaf Giles, of course it is a threat," Buffy shot back, not liking the older man's tone before she actually took note that Giles now looked a lot younger than he had the last time she had seen him. "What the hell happened to you and why do you have that worm with you?" she demanded to know as she pointed to Ethan who just smirked at her, enjoying the fact his presence irritated her.

"That is for me to know and you to never find out," Ripper said, taunting her unable to resist. "As for Ethan being here," he told her. "Well, let us just say we are catching up on old times," he lied blatantly.

Buffy growled at the sarcastic response from her former watcher. The smirk Ethan was directing at her made her anger grow even beyond what she was already feeling. Faith tensed, already seeing the changes in Buffy's body that she intended to attack. She was ready and almost desperate for her blond counterpart to throw the first punch.

"Leave Buffy," Tara spoke up. "We have nothing more to say to you. You've spat on all our friendships so you can be a whore to Spike," she continued, ignoring the enraged look Buffy shot her as the word whore was spoken. "We couldn't care less where Spike is, but if you want him then go find him because we want nothing to do with him ever again and you should know that," she stated.

"Liars," Buffy spat before she finally gave in to the urge to attack her former friends. She was halfway across the room heading straight for the bitch who had dared to call her a whore as Faith intercepted her. She was sent flying backwards with a thrust kick to her stomach. Buffy dropped her sword as she hit the ground and Faith settled herself into a ready action stance.

"Let's go B," Faith challenged Buffy as the blond slayer jumped back to her feet. "I've wanted a rematch since the moment you stabbed me," she admitted.

"I'll tear you to pieces and make sure I kill you this time," Buffy promised before she charged again.

"Bring it on Blondie," Faith snarled back as all her repressed hatred for Buffy came back fully.

Willow moved to attack before the blond could reach Faith, but Xander stopped her with his hand on her shoulder, she glanced at him and he shook his head at her. She nodded in understanding. This was Faith's battle and only she could subdue Buffy properly. Plus by letting Faith do this she may finally put her past behind her, it was clear having been stabbed by Buffy still affected her deeply. Faith ducked the wild swing from Buffy and quickly realized the blond was so pissed off she was now prone to mistakes. She wondered if it was just down to her being angry or was it a side effect of what had been done to her. Buffy quickly came back with a thrust kick which she dodged again and the she hit back with a kick of her own. This sent Buffy backwards and allowed Faith to advance in close and nail her with a right hand. This split Buffy's lip and caused her to start bleeding much to Faith's enjoyment, Buffy let out a growl and quickly hit back.

Faith stumbled backwards from the elbow Buffy managed to land on her. Buffy followed it up with a back kick which again made Faith stumble and which allowed Buffy to knock her to the ground with a nasty elbow hit. Faith quickly reacted and thrust her feet out catching Buffy in the chest as she came in to try and finish her. It didn't escape Faith that Buffy had pulled the knife from her belt. It was clear Buffy intended to kill her this time, the kick sent Buffy flying backwards and drop the knife as Faith jumped back to her feet. As Buffy came back at her she stopped as something hit her, looking down she noted a little dart sticking out of her chest. Looking up quickly she glared at her sister who held the tranq gun. Dawn shivered as she saw the look in her sister's eyes.

"You bitch," Buffy said as Dawn reloaded the gun. "I should have let that hell bitch take you," she growled, completely consumed with hatred towards them all.

She charged again, but her speed was already beginning to slow from the tranquilizer. Faith blocked the multiple shots she tried to land before stunning her with her right hand. She then twisted around and knocked Buffy back to the ground with a spin kick and before Buffy could get back to her feet Dawn scored another hit with the tranq gun. The second dose began to affect Buffy's bearings and she stumbled a little as she got back to her feet. This allowed Faith to get in close and land multiple hits to her chest and face. She then head-butted the blond and smirked as she heard a slight crack, this indicated she may have broken the blonds nose. Buffy let out a grunt of pain before she collapsed to the ground as Dawn put another dart into her. Her vision swam and she desperately tried to stay conscious, but the darkness took her and she fell still.

"Nice shots Dawn," Faith said with a grin as she turned to the younger girl. "I didn't want to drag that out too much, but still beating her made my day," she added cockily.

"You are not mad I interfered?" Dawn inquired, having been unsure if she should interfere or not, before deciding that she wanted this all sorted out quickly so her sister could finally have peace.

"No Dawn I'm not," Faith said as she moved over to the girl's side and pulled her into a deep probing kiss Dawn eagerly returned. When Faith pulled away Dawn swayed a little from the feelings the kiss evoked in her. "If it had gone on too long probably one of us would have killed the other and then we'd be in trouble," she added with a smirk before she left Dawn and moved over to where Buffy had dropped her knife. She quickly reclaimed it and vowed to put it to better use.

"We need time to recover before we can send her to the guardians," Ripper stated as he moved to pick up Buffy while Ethan moved to close and seal the door the Slayer had busted open coming in.

"We can't keep hitting her with tranqs," Dawn pointed out worried by what kind of effects they would have on Buffy's system.

"Don't worry Dawn," Willow said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Tara and I will put her under a sleep spell until we are ready to send her to the guardians," she explained to which Tara nodded.

"How long before we can do the ritual?" Xander asked as he sat back down as Willow and Tara began to put Buffy under a sleep spell after removing the darts in her chest.

"Give us an hour or two," Ethan responded as Ripper moved to make them all a drink. "That first one took a lot out of us all," he pointed out.

"At least without Spike on our case and Buffy under wraps things are mostly going to plan," Janna assured them. "Hopefully once we have sent Buffy to the guardians, we can then implement our plan to safeguard Sunnydale," she added hopefully.

"Yeah let's hope so," Willow responded with a look Janna couldn't identify. Maybe the red head was worried something might go wrong. Granted this being Sunnydale she was probably right in being worried, things of a bad nature always tended to happen around here.


End file.
